douzième

Douzième is the ordinal form of the number twelve in French. It denotes the twelfth position in a sequence and is used before a noun to indicate order, as in le douzième étage (the twelfth floor) or la douzième édition. The form is the same for masculine and feminine nouns: le douzième, la douzième. It can also function as a noun meaning one twelfth, as in un douzième.

Etymology and cognates: Douzième comes from Latin duodecimus, passing through Old French forms such as douzième. It is cognate with related Romance terms such as Spanish duodécimo and Italian dodicesimo, all reflecting the same Latin root for twelve.

Usage: The word appears in dates, publications, and time periods, for example douzième siècle (twelfth century) or douzième anniversaire (twelfth anniversary). It is also used in fractional contexts to mean one twelfth: un douzième de quelque chose.

In music and other specialized domains: In music theory, douziième can denote the interval known in English as a twelfth, typically the interval spanning an octave plus a perfect fifth. In geography, administration, or architecture, douzième is commonly used to refer to the twelfth division, such as le douzième arrondissement of a city.

See also: ordinal numbers in French; fractions in French; related terms for twelve in Romance languages.