An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/zwölf

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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, Z
by Friedrich Kluge, translated by John Francis Davis

zwölf

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This annotated version expands the abbreviations in the original entry zwölf.

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2553520An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, Z — zwölfJohn Francis DavisFriedrich Kluge

zwölf, numeral, ‘twelve,’ from the equivalent Middle High German zwęlf, zwęlif, Old High German zwęlif. A common Teutonic numeral; corresponding to Old Saxon twęlif, Dutch twaalf, Anglo-Saxon twęlf, English twelve, Gothic twalif, Old Icelandic tolf, Danish tolv, Swedish tolf. It is a compound of Teutonic twa- (High German zwei), with the component -lif, which appears also in elf (Gothic ain-lif). In the allied Aryan languages a corresponding form occurs only in Lithuanian twylika, ‘twelve,’ vënolika, ‘eleven’). For the signification of the second component, Teutonic -lif, Lithuanian -lika, see elf.