eleventeen

English

Etymology

From eleven +‎ -teen.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -iːn

Numeral

eleventeen

1. (nonce word) Twenty-one (21).
   • 1600s, Wither, Weakness:

     Many giglets I have married seen / Ere they forsooth could reach eleventeen.

2. (colloquial) A relatively large number, not precisely specified.
   • 1919, Sinclair Lewis, Free Air:

     "He fitted about eleventeen thousand people last year."

   • 2001, Rick D. Ellison, Gamble to Win: Craps:

     Trust me, I've checked every angle and analyzed a zillion options eleventeen different ways.

   • 2004, Brooks Peterson, Cultural Intelligence: A Guide to Working with People from Other Cultures:

     I can make the locals laugh at my attempts in a few other languages, such as Swedish, but I'm certainly not like the average European who seems to speak "eleventeen" languages

3. (colloquial) A nonsense number.
   • 1988 January 6, Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes:

     Hobbes: Ooh, that's a tricky one. You have to use calculus and imaginary numbers for this.
     Calvin: Imaginary numbers?!
     Hobbes: You know, eleventeen, thirty-twelve, all those.

Synonyms

• (indefinite number): umpteen

Related terms

• eleventy