fourteen

the word "fourteen" is a transparent compound from old english "fēowertīene," literally meaning "four and ten." the first element, "four," descends from the proto-indo-european root kʷetwór-, which is the source for the number four across many indo-european languages. the second element, "-teen," is a contraction of the old english word for "ten," used specifically to form the series of numbers following ten. this additive construction, where the unit precedes the decade, is a characteristic feature of the germanic numbering system, directly reflecting the arithmetic value of the number in its morphological parts.

Structure: four (4) + teen (ten) "four" originates from old english "fēower," from proto-germanic fedwōr, from pie kʷetwóres. it functions as the numerical base. "teen" originates from old english "-tīene," a variant of "-tēn," meaning "ten more than." it is a suffix used to form the numbers 13 through 19.