gross

A group of 144 items. The word comes from the Latin grossus, for "thick" or "large," via the Old French gross douzaine or "large dozen" (12 dozen), though this grouping may have started out in Germany. "Grocer" has the same origins as "gross" because a grocer is someone who deals in large quantities of food. A great gross, or a dozen gross, is 1728.

• twelve