There are over thirty English words that derive from the Proto-Indo-European word for ‘one’. This is the story of how they came to be, and what that story teaches us about how language works.
Incidentally, the frequency pattern also holds true for multi-digit numbers beginning with 1. For instance, 15893 is more common than 25983. It seems to result from practical things like street addresses, since there's no theoretical reason why a certain digit should be more common.
Absolutely fascinating.
Incidentally, the frequency pattern also holds true for multi-digit numbers beginning with 1. For instance, 15893 is more common than 25983. It seems to result from practical things like street addresses, since there's no theoretical reason why a certain digit should be more common.