Re: USAGE: Thorn vs Eth

On Sat, 13 Jul 2002, Tristan McLeay wrote:

> > Of course, it really is just as much a compound as "book-keeper" or
> > "pen-knife"... both "eight" and "teen" are words in common use.
>
> Teen is a backformation and I doubt most people would think that
> 'eighteen' was a compound of 'eight' and 'teen', at least when giving
> 'teen' its currently most common definition.
To the contrary, I think some people do see the 'thirteen' through
'nineteen' words as compounds, especially given the widespread use of the
word 'teens', as in "He's in his early teens". I say this because this is
what I myself thought throughout much of my youth, and I'd hate to think I
was the only one with such a silly idea. :)

Marcus

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