Etymograph

English

eleventh

Eleventh comes from Middle English elleven ‘eleven’, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz ‘one’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to stick’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-1‘to stick’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībaną2‘to remain, be left’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainaz2‘one’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainalif3‘eleven’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ainalifun3reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150endleofan3‘eleven’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elleven4‘eleven’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elleventhe4
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2024eleventh4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *lībaną, which cites Kroonen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainalif
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Middle English elleven
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English eleventh
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Brandon J. Weichert, Trumpmentum Is Real: Can He Win?: “Anyway, Trumpmentum is real. It is going to define…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leyp-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *lībaną, which cites Kroonen‘to stick’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*lībanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainalif‘to remain, be left’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainazWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *ainalif‘one’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainalifWiktionary, Middle English elleven‘eleven’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ainalifunWiktionary, Middle English ellevenreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150endleofanWiktionary, Middle English elleven‘eleven’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ellevenWiktionary, English eleventh‘eleven’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500elleventheWiktionary, English eleventh
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2024eleventhWiktionary, English eleventh. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2024, Brandon J. Weichert, Trumpmentum Is Real: Can He Win?: “Anyway, Trumpmentum is real. It is going to define…”

The story

This re-formation replaced inherited forms such as ellefte, enlefte, from Old English endlefta, from Proto-Germanic *ainaliftô.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *leyp- ‘to stick’

living, live, lib, lipid, lifeguard, lifeless, lipa, 15 more

through Proto-Germanic *lībaną ‘to remain, be left’

life, leave, alive, twelve, lively, lave, 10 more

through Proto-Germanic *ainaz ‘one’

an, one, no, only, any, none, 3 more

Today it means

adj The ordinal form of the number eleven.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “eleventh”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *lībaną, Proto-Germanic *ainalif, Middle English elleven. 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 *leyp- / eleventh

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