thirteen
/ˌθɝtˈtin/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.89 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "There are thirteen cards of each of the four suits in a deck of playing cards."
- "His brother's age is thirteen."
- "During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…]"
- "In the spring of 1857, I, with several friends, left Hongkong for Shanghai, viâ Foochow, in the small coasting steamer Antelope. No noteworthy incident occurred until after leaving Foochow when, as we were enjoying our after dinner coffee and cigars, and by chance discussing the question of thirteen sitting down at table that had occurred at a dinner at which one of the party had shortly before been present, a violent thump and tremulous motion of the vessel announced the unpleasant fact that we had struck upon something. We rushed on deck and found the steamer hard and fast on a reef near Matsu Island. Fortunately the day was fine and there was no sea on."
- "In the summer of 2014, at least thirteen BTGs and elements of five SPETSNAZ units were poised on the Ukrainian border.³⁶"
Etymology
From Middle English thirttene, variant (through metathesis) of thrittene, from Old English þrēotīene, from Proto-Germanic *þritehun, compound of *þrīz (“three”) + *tehun (“teen”). Cognate with West Frisian trettjin, Dutch dertien, German dreizehn, Danish tretten. Equivalent to three + -teen.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: thirttene, þrēotīene, *þritehun
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌθɝtˈtin/
- British English: /ˌθɜːˈtiːn/