elleven

Middle English

**Middle English numbers ^(edit)**
← 10	11	12 →
Cardinal: elleven Ordinal: elleventhe, ellefte

Alternative forms

eleven, enleven
ellevyn (Northern); eleivan, elleyven (Northwest Midland)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English endleofan,^[1] from Proto-West Germanic *ainalifun, alteration of *ainalif, in turn from Proto-Germanic *ainalif.

The shift of primary stress from the first to the second syllable is unexpected; Jordan posits it originated in postpositive ellevene to avoid a sequence of three unstressed syllables.^[2]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛ(n)ˈlɛvən/
IPA^(key): /ɛˈlɛ̞ːvən/ (especially Northern)

Numeral

elleven (postpositive ellevene, preconsonantal (especially Southern or West Midland) elleve)

eleven

Related terms

Descendants

English: eleven
Middle Scots: ane-levin, alevin, ellevin, elevin, levin
- Scots: eleiven, eleeven

References

^ “ellē̆ven, card. num.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 14 February 2019.
^ Jordan, Richard (1974), Eugene Crook, transl., Handbook of the Middle English Grammar: Phonology (Janua Linguarum. Series Practica; 218)‎^[1], The Hague: Mouton & Co. N.V., →DOI, § 22, page 41.

[1] “ellē̆ven, card. num.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 14 February 2019.

[2] Jordan, Richard (1974), Eugene Crook, transl., Handbook of the Middle English Grammar: Phonology (Janua Linguarum. Series Practica; 218)‎^[1], The Hague: Mouton & Co. N.V., →DOI, § 22, page 41.

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