Twelve
Twelve (12) is the natural number following eleven and preceding thirteen.Twelve is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. Twelve is also a highly composite number, the next one being 24.
A twelve-sided polygon is a dodecagon. A twelve-sided polyhedron is a dodecahedron.
The number twelve is often used as a sales unit in trade, and is often referred to as a dozen. Twelve dozen are known as a gross. (Note that there are thirteen loaves in a baker's dozen.) The duodecimal system, which is the use of 12 as a division factor for many historical weights and measures, including hours, probably originates from Mesopotamia. See also: base 12.
In base thirteen and higher bases (such as hexadecimal), twelve is represented as C.
There are twelve months in a year.
The Western zodiac has twelve signs, as does the Chinese zodiac.
There are normally twelve pairs of ribs in the human body.
Jewish tradition and the old testament of the Bible talks of twelve tribes of Israel. The new testament of the Bible describes twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.
In modern Jewish practice, girls get their bat mitzvah on the Shabbat after their twelfth birthdays.
In the United States, twelve people are appointed to sit on a jury for felony trials in all but four states, and in federal and D.C courts.
The song Twelve Days of Christmas came from the traditional practice of extending Yuletide celebrations over twelve days.
See also: ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen integer, list of numbers.
This article is about the number. For the year AD 12, see 12.
