ENGLISH
REFERENCE

tenth

n.
A2 Elementary US //ˈtɛnθ// UK //tˈɛnθ// tenth Archaic

n. the position of number ten in a series. You use it to describe one part of something that is divided into ten equal pieces.

n. constituting number ten in a sequence; representing one of ten equal parts of a whole.


SIMPLE

Today is my daughter's tenth birthday.

CONTEXTUAL

The runner finished in tenth place, just missing out on a medal but still setting a personal record.

COMPLEX

The architect noted that even a tenth of a millimeter of error in the foundation could lead to structural instability as the building rose higher.

Origin

From Middle English tenth, tenthe. Old English had tēoþa (origin of Modern English tithe), but the force of analogy to the cardinal number "ten" caused Middle English speakers to recreate the regular ordinal and re-insert the nasal consonant. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *tehundô. Equivalent to ten (numeral) + -th (suffix forming ordinals).

Usage

Often functions as an ordinal number or a fraction; when used as a fraction, it is typically a countable noun.

Pitfall

ten thtenthLearners sometimes mistakenly add a space before the suffix or misspell it as 'tenth' without the 'h' after the 't'.

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