-th
English
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-θ/
Etymology 1
From Middle English -the, -th, -te, -t (abstract nominal suffix), from Old English -þ, -t, -þu, -tu, -þo, -to (“-th”, abstract nominal suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-iþō, from Proto-Indo-European *-iteh₂. Cognate with Scots -th, West Frisian -te, Dutch -te, Danish -de, Swedish -d, Icelandic -ð, -d, Gothic -𐌹𐌸𐌰 (-iþa), Latin -itās (“-ty, -ity”). See -ity, -t.
Suffix
-th
- (no longer productive) Used to form nouns from verbs of action.
- (no longer productive except jocular coinages) Used to form nouns of quality from adjectives.
Synonyms
- The terms below need to be checked and allocated to the definitions (senses) of the headword above. Each term should appear in the sense for which it is appropriate. For synonyms and antonyms you may use the templates
{{syn|en|...}}
or{{ant|en|...}}
.
Etymology 2
From Middle English -the, -th, -te, -t (ordinal suffix), from Old English -þa, -þe, -oþa, -oþe, derived from a Proto-Indo-European superlative suffix. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Suffix
-th
- Used to form the ordinal numeral when the final term of the spelled number is not “first”, “second”, or “third”.
- (mathematics) Used to form a term denoting the ordinal numeral corresponding to the value, being a natural number, of a mathematical expression.
- The th term of a geometrical progression whose first term is and common ratio is is given by .
- Used to form the denominator of a fraction.
- one seventh; three tenths
Usage notes
- Some numbers undergo a change in spelling: five + -th → fifth, eight + -th → eighth, nine + -th → ninth, twenty + -th → twentieth. See -eth
- Use of this suffix with numbers ending in one, two, or three is occasionally heard in speech, particularly in forming fractions (**thirty-twoth) but is considered highly nonstandard.
- In older texts, this suffix, and the other suffixes for forming ordinals, may be seen written as superscripts: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th. This is considered old-fashioned; the current preference is to write (when not spelling the numbers), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th.
- When used to suffix a mathematical expression, a hyphen is sometimes inserted: -th term.
Translations
|
Etymology 3
From Middle English -eth, -th, from Old English -eþ, -aþ, -þ.
Suffix
-th
- (archaic) A variant of -eth, used to form the archaic third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs.
See also
Albanian
Etymology
from Proto-Albanian *-ts from Proto-Indo-European *-ḱos.
Middle English
Etymology 1
Originally two distinct suffixes:
- Old English -þ, from Proto-West Germanic *-þu, from Proto-Germanic *-þuz, from Proto-Indo-European *-tus.
- Old English -þ, from Proto-West Germanic *-þi, from Proto-Germanic *-þiz, from Proto-Indo-European *-tis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-θ/, /-d/, /-t/
Suffix
-th
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- “-th(e, suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Mohawk
References
- Nora Deering, Helga H. Delisle (1976) Mohawk: A teaching grammar (preliminary version), Quebec: Manitou College, page 417