English
duodecimate
Duodecimate comes from Latin duodecim ‘twelve’, from decem ‘ten’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥1‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekəm1‘ten’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecem1‘ten’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEduodecim2‘twelve’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEduodecimatus2
- Englishearliest quotation 1851duodecimate2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin duodecim
- 2 Wiktionary, English duodecimate
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Matthew LaRue Perrine Thompson, The Church: “We affirm, that to all eternity the apostles are…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déḱm̥Wiktionary, Latin duodecim‘ten’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dekəmWiktionary, Latin duodecim‘ten’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdecemWiktionary, Latin duodecim‘ten’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEduodecimWiktionary, English duodecimate‘twelve’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEduodecimatusWiktionary, English duodecimate
- Englishearliest quotation 1851duodecimateWiktionary, English duodecimate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1851, Matthew LaRue Perrine Thompson, The Church: “We affirm, that to all eternity the apostles are…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’
century, ten, cent, hundred, dick, decade, sen, hectare, tenfold, dinero, deca, 47 more
through Proto-Italic *dekəm ‘ten’
den, diner, denier, dwt, 19 more
through Latin decem ‘ten’
dean, decimal, doyen, dicker, deni, 19 more
through Latin duodecim ‘twelve’
Today it means
noun Synonym of duodecimvirate: a group of twelve.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “duodecimate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin duodecim. 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 / duodecimate