An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/zwölf

by Friedrich 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.