Re: Numerals query again

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "alex" <alxmoeller@...> wrote:

> In Rom. the things are a bit complicated due the short forms; the

prep.

> "spre" given as deriving from Latin "super"
> means "toward", "to" ("english "to" is for me a bit too generalised

and

> thus I would advice to see "spre" as "toward")
> Rom, literary:
> unsprezece (un-spre-zece), one-toward-ten
> doisprezece (doi-spre-zece), two-toward-ten
> treisprezece
> patrusprezece (*)
> cincisprezece (*)
> Saisprezece
> Saptisprezece
> Optisprezece
> nouãsprezece
>
> Alex

I know nothing about Romanian, but I do know a little Latin. 'Super'
means 'above', when used with the accusative, and 'in addition to'
when used with the ablative. As we count higher and higher from 10,
I would understand 11 to be 'one above/in addition to 10' rather
than 'one toward ten'. Presumably if counting up we would have
already passed 10 and hence would not be going toward 10 but higher
than.

Then again a native Rom. speaker may see it differently.

Pete p