Demi-douzaine (en. Half dozen)

dɛmi du.zɛn

Meaning & Definition

EnglishFrench

noun

A set of six items or units.

I bought a demi-dozen eggs.

J'ai acheté une demi-douzaine d'œufs.

An indication of quantity that represents half of a dozen.

A demi-dozen roses cost me fifteen euros.

Une demi-douzaine de roses m'a coûté quinze euros.

A measure often used to refer to items sold by the dozen.

The butcher sold a demi-dozen sausages.

Le boucher a vendu une demi-douzaine de saucisses.

From the Latin 'duodecim' meaning twelve, with 'demi' indicating half.

to make a demi-dozen

to acquire or obtain about six items.

faire une demi-douzaine

to eat a demi-dozen

to consume about six portions of something.

manger une demi-douzaine

dozen

A set of twelve items.

douzaine

unit

A single item considered individually.

unité

half

Half of something, equivalent to six in the case of a dozen.

moitié

A casual reference to a moderate quantity of items.

Did you grab a demi-dozen beers for the evening?

T'as pris une demi-douzaine de bières pour la soirée?

Used to talk about something ordinary or trivial.

It was a demi-dozen jokes, nothing exceptional.

C'était une demi-douzaine de blagues, rien d'exceptionnel.