Talk:11 (number)
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what is the derivation of the word eleven...how come eleven and twelve don't fit the teen convetion shared by 13-19? Kingturtle 23:50, 29 Sep 2003 (UTC)
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=eleven
Word History: The decimal system of counting is well established in the English names for numbers. Both the suffix -teen (as in fourteen) and the suffix -ty (as in forty) are related to the word ten. But what about the anomalous eleven and twelve? Why do we not say oneteen, twoteen along the same pattern as thirteen, fourteen, fifteen? Eleven in Old English is endleofan, and related forms in the various Germanic languages point back to an original Germanic *ainlif, ?eleven.? *Ainlif is composed of *ain-, ?one,? the same as our one, and the suffix *-lif from the Germanic root *lib-, ?to adhere, remain, remain left over.? Thus, eleven is literally ?one-left? (over, that is, past ten), and twelve is ?two-left? (over past ten). Evil saltine 23:53, 29 Sep 2003 (UTC)
Divisibility Test
I think that the base 10 divisibility test for 11 is worth mentioning here, so I added it, but I wonder if my explanation of it is simple and easy to understand. If anyone here can explain it better, I encourage them to edit the divisibility paragraph. PrimeFan 21:41, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)