tenth

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a tenth part; one part in ten equal parts
  2. noun position ten in a countable series of things
  3. adjective coming next after the ninth and just before the eleventh in position

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).

In classic literature

Synonyms

one-tenth, tenth part, ten percent

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