A Dozen Nonnumerical Words for Quantities

A Dozen Nonnumerical Words for Quantities A Dozen Nonnumerical Words for Quantities A Dozen Nonnumerical Words for Quantities By Mark Nichol The English language has, well, a number of words that denote specific or approximate quantities that are themselves not numbers. This post lists and defines a dozen of those words. 1. brace: two, in reference to identical objects 2. century: primarily denotes 100 years, but occasionally used, especially in the context of competitive racing, to refer to something consisting of 100, as in a 100-mile race 3. couple: two, though loosely refers to a few of something 4. decade: primarily denotes 10 years, but occasionally refers to ten of something 5. dozen: twelve (a half dozen, or half a dozen, is six, and a baker’s dozen is thirteen, from the notion that a baker would include an extra item in a batch of twelve so as not to be accused of short-changing a customer) 6. duo: two, in reference to people engaged in an endeavor together, as in musical performance (other words denote three or more people in the same context: trio, quartet, etc.) 7. grand: slang for â€Å"1,000† 8. gross: 144, or twelve dozen 9. large: slang for â€Å"1,000† 10. myriad: originally, ten thousand, but now loosely refers to a very large quantity 11. pair: two, often in reference to identical objects 12. score: twenty Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Program vs. ProgrammeAmong vs. Amongst20 Classic Novels You Can Read in One Sitting