eleventh-century
UK[ɪˈlɛv(ə)nθ ˈsɛn.tʃə.ri]US[ɪˈlɛv(ə)nθ ˈsɛn.tʃə.ri]
adj
Relating to the period from the year 1101 to 1200, or more loosely from 1001 to 1100.
Morpheme Breakdown
eleventh
century
eleventh
ordinal number
century
period of 100 years
Etymology
The compound adjective "eleventh-century" is a modern English formation that combines a Germanic-derived ordinal number with a Latin-derived time period. "Eleven" originates from the Old English 'endleofan', meaning "one left (after ten)", a counting system common in Germanic languages. "Century" comes from the Latin 'centuria', referring to a group of one hundred, which itself derives from the Proto-Indo-European root 'ḱm̥tóm' (hundred). The logic of the compound is transparently chronological, directly specifying a particular hundred-year block in the Common Era counting system, with the ordinal number indicating its sequence.
Analysis
Structure: eleventh (ordinal number) + century (period of 100 years)
- eleventh: From Old English 'endleofta', related to 'eleven', of Germanic origin. Functions as an ordinal number.
- century: From Latin 'centuria', from 'centum' (hundred). Functions as a noun denoting a period of 100 years.
Examples
The manuscript is an eleventh-century copy of a much older text.
Eleventh-century architecture in Europe was predominantly Romanesque.
The historian specializes in the political conflicts of the eleventh-century Islamic world.