Definition of twenty-five Entry 3 of 3. Love words? Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with: More than , words that aren't in our free dictionary Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes Advanced search features Ad free! Join Our Free Trial Now! Learn More About twenty-five. Statistics for twenty-five Look-up Popularity. Style: MLA. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Red tape, white lies. Speculative science.
This sceptred isle. Root of all evil. Ethical conundrums. This sporting life. Stage and screen. Birds and the bees. Could it be due to Arabic writing and reading from right to left being introduced after and as a consequence of the crusades?
Or is there a better or more correct explanation? Active Oldest Votes. Stefanowitsch, the host of Sprachlog : 'seven-and-twenty years' corresponds to the original germanic pattern. Improve this answer. The Cahill et al link is broken. Albert Herring Albert Herring 1, 7 7 silver badges 5 5 bronze badges. It still survives in some well-worn expressions, mostly cultural heritage: Threescore and ten "score" being 20, that makes 70, which is one's allotted lifespan Four and twenty as in blackbirds 'Four score and seven years ago' Gettysburg Address There are probably others I'm leaving this answer open for additions.
Only one of these examples relates to the question. Colin Fine Colin Fine My grandmother would also tell the time this way - "It's five and twenty past nine. Yes, but I'm talking about somebody sixty years younger than that. I know - I think it's great it still continues! Mynamite, I confirm that's it alive and well, even in London. A colleague in his 50s, born and raised in north London, still says "five and twenty past five".
He claims it's a family habit copied from recent ancestors from rural Northamptonshire [not too far from Cambridge]. DavidGarner It was used extensively, including by me, when I was a boy in Norfolk, in the s. But I don't think the practice was restricted to East Anglia.
My friend from Northern Ireland also recalls it from the same period. March Ho March Ho 3, 2 2 gold badges 18 18 silver badges 31 31 bronze badges. Could you provide some evidence for the claim in your last sentence, please. It's an interesting idea, but needs some back up. This doesn't seem to answer the question. When did what the question calls "Germanic-style" numbers fall out of use?
You can find more information here wanda. David - "Germanic-style" or "Celtic-style" to answer the question you may have to resolve this problem before.
Other than the issues already pointed out, it is not at all clear that the vigesimal counting system of Breton and other Celtic languages was the influence for the English usage. The influence could have come from French modern French still uses vigesimal , or another Germanic language modern Danish still has the vigesimal roots clearly present in their numerical system.
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