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dozen

 - 5 dictionary results

doz⋅en

1  [duhz-uhn] noun, plural doz⋅ens, (as after a numeral) doz⋅en, adjective
Use dozen in a Sentence
–noun
1. a group of 12.
2. the dozens, Slang. a ritualized game typically engaged in by two persons each of whom attempts to outdo the other in insults directed against members of the other's family (usually used in the phrase play the dozens).
–adjective
3. twelve.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME dozeine < OF do(u)zaine, equiv. to do(u)ze (< L duodecim) + -aine (< L -āna) -an

doz⋅en

2  [doh-zuhn]
–verb (used with object) Scot.
to stun.
Origin:
1325–75; ME (Scots); see doze 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To dozen
doz·en   (dŭz'ən)   
n.  

  1. pl. dozen Abbr. doz. or dz. A set of 12.

  2. dozens An indefinite, large number: dozens of errands to run.

adj.  Twelve.

[Middle English dozeine, from Old French dozaine, from doze, twelve, ultimately from Latin duodecim : duo, two; see dwo- in Indo-European roots + decem, ten; see dek in Indo-European roots.]
doz'enth (-ənth) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

dozen 
c.1300, from O.Fr. dozeine "a dozen," from douze "twelve," from L. duodecim, from duo "two" + decem "ten." The O.Fr. fem. suffix -aine is characteristically added to cardinals to form collectives in a precise sense ("exactly 12," not "about 12"). The dozens "invective contest" (1928) originated in slave culture, the custom probably African, the word probably from bulldoze (q.v.) in its original sense of "a whipping, a thrashing."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

dozen

see baker's dozen; by the dozen; daily dozen; dime a dozen; six of one, half dozen of the other.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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