Etymology

thirteen

T1H4I1R1T1E1E1N1

Today it means: The cardinal number occurring after twelve and before fourteen: ten and three. Full definition →

Middle English thirttene ← Old English þrēotīene ← Proto-Germanic *þritehun
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*þritehun
  2. Old English · inherited fromþrēotīene
  3. Middle English · inherited fromthirttene
  4. English todaythirteen

From Middle English thirttene, variant (through metathesis) of thrittene, from Old English þrēotīene, from Proto-Germanic *þritehun, compound of *þrīz (“three”) + *tehun (“teen”). Cognate with West Frisian trettjin, Dutch dertien, German dreizehn, Danish tretten. Equivalent to three + -teen.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishþrēotīene all →

throtteen

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.