Where does “fourth” come from?
Fourth descends from Middle English fourthe and ferthe, from Old English fēorþa, from Proto-Germanic fedurþô, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kʷetwṓr, the root for the number four.
fourth (English): The ordinal form of the number four; The person...
Definitions
- The ordinal form of the number four; The person...
Ancestry of “fourth”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | fourthe | Alternative form of ferthe |
| 2 | Middle English | ferthe | fourth; One of four equal parts of a whole; a... |
| 3 | Old English | fēorþa | fourth |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | feurþō | fourth |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | fedurþô | fourth |
Words derived from “fourth”