Etymology Explorer › Portuguese

Where does “meia dúzia” come from?

meia dúzia (Portuguese) comes from Portuguese dúzia, from Old Portuguese ducea, from Latin duodecim, from Latin decem, from Latin -nus, from Proto-Italic -nos, from Proto-Indo-European -nós — Creates verbal adjectives from roots.

meia dúzia (Portuguese): half a dozen; couple

Definitions

  1. half a dozen; couple

Ancestry of “meia dúzia”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Portuguesedúziadozen
2Old Portugueseducea—
3Latinduodecimtwelve; 12; dozen
4Latindecemten; 10
5Latin-nus-an
6Proto-Italic-nos—
7Proto-Indo-European-nósCreates verbal adjectives from roots
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -nós →