English
dozen
Dozen comes from Middle English dozen, from Old French dozaine ‘a group of twelve’, from doze ‘twelve’, from Latin duodecim ‘twelve’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEduodecim‘twelve’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*dōdecireconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400doze‘twelve’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400dozaine‘a group of twelve’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dozen
- Englishearliest quotation 1957dozen
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEduodecim‘twelve’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*dōdecireconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400doze‘twelve’
- Old French, derivedc. 842–1400dozaine‘a group of twelve’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dozen
- Englishearliest quotation 1957dozen
Earliest quotation: 1957, H.R. Schubert, History of the British Iron and Steel Industry: “The dozen as a measure for iron ore remained…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’
century, hundred, dick, ten, decade, cent, sen, hectare, tenfold, deca, dinero, 49 more
through Proto-Italic *dekəm ‘ten’
den, diner, denier, dwt, 20 more
through Latin decem ‘ten’
Today it means
noun A set of twelve.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin duodecim / dozen