Eleven and twelve
Why not oneteen and twoteen? The reason behind the shift in number naming is that eleven comes from the Germanic term ainlif, which translates to “one left,” or in this case, “one left over” after you count out ten of something. Twelve follows the same rule. It comes from twalif—“two left.” Why we switched from lif to teen (which itself means “ten more than”) for 13 through 19 is something that is sadly lost to antiquity. Learn more about why 11 and 12 aren’t part of the “teens.”
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