twelfth

adj, noun — 3 senses

twelfth

adj

UK, US /twɛlfθ/ [tʰw̥ɛɫfθ]

Etymology From Middle English twelfthe, twelfte, from Old English twelfta (“twelfth”), from Proto-Germanic *twaliftô (“twelfth”), equivalent to twelve + -th (ordinal suffix). Cognate with Scots twalt (“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”).

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
12th, XIIth, XII, dozenth
Derived terms
Glorious Twelfth, Twelfth, Twelfth cake, twelfth cake, twelfth cranial nerve, Twelfth Day, twelfth-day cake, twelfth grade, twelfth grader, twelfthly, twelfth man, Twelfth Month, Twelfth Night, twelfth pie, Twelfthtide

twelfth

noun

Etymology From Middle English twelfthe, twelfte, from Old English twelfta (“twelfth”), from Proto-Germanic *twaliftô (“twelfth”), equivalent to twelve + -th (ordinal suffix). Cognate with Scots twalt (“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”).

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

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music An interval equal to an octave plus a fifth.

Synonyms
dozenth, uncia
Derived terms
perfect twelfth

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.