dozen, dosain, dose in, doseine, doseyn, doseyne, dozeyne, duszeyne

& 8. [O. Fr. dosaine, dozaine; Fr. douzaine, from O. Fr. doze; Fr. douze twelve, with suff.- ain Lat. anus, from Lat. duodecim=twelve: duo=two, and decem =ten; Sp. docena; Ital. dozzina; Ger. dutzend.] A. As adjective: 1. Lit.: Twelve in number. "We cannot lodge and board a dozen or fourteen gentle. omen." -Shakesp.: Henry V., ii. 1. 2. Fig.: A great number; indefinitely many. B. As substantive: I. Literally : 1. A collection or aggregate of twelve things. "By putting twelve units together we have the complex idea of a dozen."- Locke . 2. Followed by of . "Some six or seven dozen of Scots."-Shakesp.: Henry IV ., Pt . I. , ii. 4. II. Fig .: An indefinite number, generally implying a large quantity. "Knock them down by the dozens."-Shakesp.: Henry VIII ., v. 4.