tenth
/tɛnθ/ adjective, noun, verb
Forms tenths tenthing tenthed
- adjective The ordinal numeral form of ten; next in order after that which is ninth.
- adjective Being one of ten equal parts of a whole.
- noun The person or thing coming next after the ninth in a series; that which is in the tenth position.
- noun One of ten equal parts of a whole.
- noun (music) The interval between any tone and the tone represented on the tenth degree of the staff above it, as between one of the scale and three of the octave above; the octave of the third.
- noun (UK, law, historical, in the plural) A temporary aid issuing out of personal property, and granted to the king by Parliament; formerly, the real tenth part of all the movables belonging to the subject.
- noun (machining) A tenth of a mil; a ten-thousandth of an inch.
- verb To divide by ten, into tenths.
Synonyms
X 10th Xth tithe decim decima decimate titheling tithing one-tenth tenth part ten percent
Etymology
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).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Next in order after the ninth; coming after nine others.
- adjective Constituting or being one of ten equal parts into which anything is divided.
- noun The next in order after the ninth; one coming after nine others.
- noun The quotient of a unit divided by ten; one of ten equal parts into which anything is divided.
Etymology [From Ten: cf. OE. tethe, AS. teó. See Ten, and cf. Tithe.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tenth”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details