fortieth

[fawr-tee-ith]

adjective

next after the thirty-ninth; being the ordinal number for 40.

being one of 40 equal parts.

noun

a fortieth part, especially of one (1/40).

the fortieth member of a series.

Nearby words

Origin of fortieth

before 1100; Middle English fourtithe, Old English fēowertigotha. See forty, -eth²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fortieth

Now, with his fortieth birthday approaching, he decided it was time to retire.
Babe Ruth’s Summer of Records|Bill Bryson|September 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Dr. and Mrs. Burton just celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary.
The Science of When to Get Married|Hannah Seligson|April 7, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Fortieth Street was at least a mile and a half distant, and he had already just returned from a walk in a different direction.
Fame and Fortune|Horatio Alger, Jr.
Those lines from the eighteenth to the fortieth ought to be written in blood.
A Diversity of Creatures|Rudyard Kipling

In giving one fortieth part of their yearly income or gains to the poor.
Genghis Khan, Makers of History Series|Jacob Abbott
He was in his fortieth year when, in 1842, he published The Bible in Spain.
Essays in English Literature, 1780-1860|George Saintsbury
She died in 1816, suddenly, in the fortieth year of her age.
The College, the Market, and the Court|Caroline H. Dall

British Dictionary definitions for fortieth

fortieth

adjective

being the ordinal number of forty in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc. Often written: 40th
(as noun)he was the fortieth

noun

one of 40 approximately equal parts of something
(as modifier)a fortieth part

the fraction equal to one divided by 40 (1/40)

Word Origin for fortieth

Old English fēowertigotha

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fortieth

fortieth

adj.

Old English feowertigoða, from feowertig (see forty) + -th (1). Cf. Old Norse fertugonde, Swedish fyrationde, Danish fyrretyvende.