Why is 12 of something called a Dozen?..
The word Dozen comes from the original Latin word, duodecim, for 12, this changed in the French language to dozeine, and then in English to Dozen.
Why is a Dozen, sometimes 13?
This came from the term “Bakers Dozen”
King Henry III, in 1266, implemented a law to standardize the weight of bread loaves with penalties including fines, beatings or jail.
Bakers then decided to be safe and give 13 loaves to customers buying a 12.
In this way a “Bakers Dozen” become 13 in practice. The term itself may have begun being used in around 1600.
Sources:
www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/dozen
www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/Bakers-dozen.html
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