Etymograph

English

douzaine

Douzaine comes from French douzaine ‘dozen’, from Old French doze ‘twelve’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥1‘ten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekəm1‘ten’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecem1‘ten’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEduodecim2‘twelve’
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*dōdeci2reconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400doze2‘twelve’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dozaine2
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600douzaine2
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentdouzaine3‘dozen’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1841douzaine3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin duodecim
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French douzaine
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English douzaine
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1841, Peter Jeremie, An Essay on the Laws of Real Property in Guernsey: “If the eldest son will not accept the valuation…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥Wiktionary, Latin duodecim‘ten’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekəmWiktionary, Latin duodecim‘ten’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecemWiktionary, Latin duodecim‘ten’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEduodecimWiktionary, French douzaine‘twelve’
  5. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*dōdeciWiktionary, French douzainereconstructed
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dozeWiktionary, French douzaine‘twelve’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400dozaineWiktionary, French douzaine
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600douzaineWiktionary, French douzaine
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentdouzaineWiktionary, English douzaine‘dozen’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1841douzaineWiktionary, English douzaine. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1841, Peter Jeremie, An Essay on the Laws of Real Property in Guernsey: “If the eldest son will not accept the valuation…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’

ten, century, cent, hundred, dick, decade, sen, hectare, tenfold, deca, dinero, 47 more

through Proto-Italic *dekəm ‘ten’

den, diner, denier, dwt, 19 more

through Latin decem ‘ten’

dean, decimal, deni, dicker, doyen, 19 more

through Old French dozaine

dozen

Today it means

noun A parish council, consisting of a dean and twelve douzeniers.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “douzaine”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin duodecim, French douzaine. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ / douzaine

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