twelfth

See also: Twelfth

English
English numbers (edit)
 ←  11 12 13  → 
    Cardinal: twelve
    Ordinal: twelfth
    Latinate ordinal: duodecimary
    Adverbial: twelve times
    Multiplier: twelvefold
    Latinate multiplier: duodecuple
    Group collective: dozen, twelvesome
    Greek or Latinate collective: duodecad, duodecade
    Greek collective prefix: dodeca-
    Latinate collective prefix: duodeca-
    Fractional: twelfth, dozenth
    Latinate fractional prefix: unci-
    Greek prefix: dodecato-
    Number of musicians: duodecet

Alternative forms
  • twelfe (obsolete, but the corresponding pronunciation /twɛlf/ is still widespread today)
  • twelveth (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English twelfthe, twelfte, from Old English twelfta (“twelfth”), from Proto-Germanic *twaliftô (“twelfth”), equivalent to twelve +‎ -th. Cognate with Scots twelft (“twelfth”), Saterland Frisian tweelfte (“twelfth”), West Frisian tolfde (“twelfth”), Dutch twaalfde (“twelfth”), German Low German twalfde, twalvde (“twelfth”), German zwölfte (“twelfth”), Danish tolvte (“twelfth”), Swedish tolfte (“twelfth”), Icelandic tólfta (“twelfth”).

Pronunciation
  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /twɛlfθ/, [tʰw̥ɛɫfθ]; /twɛlθ/, [tʰw̥ɛɤθ];[1] (especially when th-fronting) IPA(key): /twɛlf/, [tʰw̥ɛɫʷf]; /twɛlftθ/[2]
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛlfθ, -ɛlθ, -ɛlf

Adjective

twelfth (not comparable)

  1. The ordinal form of the number twelve, describing a person or thing in position number 12 of a sequence.
    The answer appears on the twelfth page of the book.
    She finished twelfth in the race.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

twelfth (plural twelfths)

  1. One of twelve equal parts of a whole.
    A twelfth of 240 is 20.
    Five twelfths of the population voted in support of the proposal.
  2. (music) An interval equal to an octave plus a fifth.

Synonyms
  • (one of twelve equal parts): dozenth; uncia (chiefly Greco-Roman contexts)

Translations

References
  1. Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933. (modern OED website has /twɛl(f)θ/ for both British and US English)
  2. “twelfth”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. (/twɛlf(t)θ/)
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