Where does “ninth” come from?
Ninth derives from Middle English nynthe, from Old English niġoþa, from Proto-Germanic newundô, the ordinal form of the number nine.
ninth (English): The ordinal form of the number nine; The person...
Definitions
- The ordinal form of the number nine; The person...
Ancestry of “ninth”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | nynthe | ninth; One of nine equal parts of a whole; a... |
| 2 | Middle English | -the | (rarely productive); -th, -ness |
| 3 | Old English | -þ | forming abstract nouns from verbs, adjectives or... |
| 4 | Old English | -þu | forming abstract nouns from verbs, adjectives or... |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -iþu | Forms abstract nouns from verbs, adjectives or... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -iþō | -ness, -th |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -iteh₂ | -th |