Where does “tenfold” come from?

Tenfold comes from Old English tīenfeald, a compound of tīen (ten) and feald (fold), meaning multiplied by ten.

tenfold (English): containing ten parts; ten times as much; by ten...

Definitions

  1. containing ten parts; ten times as much; by ten...

Ancestry of “tenfold”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtenfold—
2Old Englishtīenfealdtenfold
3Old Englishfealdoccasion
4Alemannic GermanFald—
5Middle High Germanvëlt—
6Old High Germanfeld—
7Proto-West Germanicfelþufield
8Proto-Germanicfelþuzfield, plain
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpelh₂-to approach
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpel-to cover, to wrap; skin, hide, cloth; to fold

Words derived from “tenfold”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pel- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European pelh₂- →Every word from Proto-Germanic felþuz →