12 (number)
| Mathematical properties | |
| φ(12) = 4 | τ(12) = 6 |
| σ(12) = 28 | π(12) = 5 |
| μ(12) = 0 | M(12) = -2 |
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 12 (number) |
12 (twelve i/ˈtwɛlv/) is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13.
The word "twelve" is the largest number with a single-morpheme name in English. Etymology suggests that "twelve" (similar to "eleven") arises from the Germanic compound twalif "two-leftover", so a literal translation would yield "two remaining ". This compound meaning may have been transparent to speakers of Old English, but the modern form "twelve" is quite opaque. Only the remaining tw- hints that twelve and two are related.
A group of twelve things is called a duodecad. The ordinal adjective is duodenary, twelfth. The adjective referring to a group consisting of twelve things is duodecuple.
The number twelve is often used as a sales unit in trade, and is often referred to as a dozen. Twelve dozen are known as a gross. (Note that there are thirteen items in a baker's dozen.)
As shown below, the number twelve is frequently cited in the Abrahamic religions and is also central to the Western calendar and units of time.
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