Twelfth
/twɛlfθ/noun
The ordinal form of twelve; the item that comes after eleventh.
Did you know?Twelfth comes from Old English with a built-in math trick: the old ordinal ending attached to the number twelve, whose root originally meant “two left over” after a full ten.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dwóh₁
“two”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*twai
“two”
Old English
OE
twelf
“twelve; literally “two left” after ten”
Old English
OE
twelfta
“twelfth”
Middle English
ME
twelfte
“twelfth”
Modern English
English
twelfth
“the ordinal number after eleventh”