English
tenth
Tenth comes from Middle English tenthe, and goes back to ten.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ten
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500tentheas tenth
- Englishearliest quotation 1611tenth
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500ten
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500tentheas tenth
- Englishearliest quotation 1611tenth
Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “The Ephah and the Bath shal be of one…”
Formed from ten + -th
Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥
Proto-Germanic *tehun
Proto-West Germanic *tehun
Old English tīen
Middle English ten
English ten
The story
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.
Linked words
through Middle English ten
Today it means
adj The ordinal numeral form of ten; next in order after that which is ninth.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English ten / tenth