ten

A1 Topic:Numbers & Quantity

US /tɛn/ UK /tɛn/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like tan /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #609

Meanings

1

num
The number 10, which comes after nine and before eleven.

There are ten students in the classroom.
2

noun
A banknote worth ten units of money.

Can you give me two tens for this twenty?

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · a banknote worth ten units... tenner

Word family

Forms tens

Related forms deca-decadaldecenarydecenerdecennial decimaldeka-tenfold tenth tithe

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

You can't put ten pounds of shit in a five-pound bag

Simplified etymology

Ten is an Old English word descended from an ancient root also represented by Latin decem “ten.” The Latin form became the source of decimal and related words.

Etymology

PIE word *déḱm̥ From Middle English ten, tene, from Old English tīen, from Proto-West Germanic *tehun, from Proto-Germanic *tehun, from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥. Cognate with Scots ten, tene (“ten”), West Frisian tsien (“ten”), Saterland Frisian tjoon (“ten”), North Frisian tiin (“ten”). See also teen.

ten Middle English tīen Old English *tehun Proto-Germanic *déḱm̥ Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Numbers & Quantity

External links

# ten

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** num, noun
**IPA (US):** /tɛn/
**IPA (UK):** /tɛn/
**Frequency rank:** 609

## Meanings
1. The number 10, which comes after nine and before eleven.
2. A banknote worth ten units of money.

## Examples
- There are ten students in the classroom.
- Can you give me two tens for this twenty?

## Related Forms
- deca-
- decadal
- decenary
- decener
- decennial
- decimal
- deka-
- tenfold
- tenth
- tithe

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ten
- Root: tīen
- Root: *tehun
- Root: *déḱm̥

## Etymology
PIE word *déḱm̥ From Middle English ten, tene, from Old English tīen, from Proto-West Germanic *tehun, from Proto-Germanic *tehun, from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥. Cognate with Scots ten, tene (“ten”), West Frisian tsien (“ten”), Saterland Frisian tjoon (“ten”), North Frisian tiin (“ten”). See also teen.

## AI Etymology
Ten PIE word *déḱm̥ From Middle English ten, tene, from Old English tīen, from Proto-West Germanic *tehun, from Proto-Germanic *tehun, from Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥. Cognate with Scots ten, tene (“ten”), West Frisian tsien (“ten”), Saterland Frisian tjoon (“ten”), North Frisian tiin (“ten”). See also teen. In present-day use, it can mean the number 10, which comes after nine and before eleven, or a banknote worth ten units of money.

## Topics
- Numbers & Quantity

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