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.

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

Contemporary Examples of 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
Dr. and Mrs. Burton just celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary.
The Science of When to Get Married
Hannah Seligson
April 7, 2009

Historical Examples of fortieth

At Fortieth Street he looked down to the middle of the block.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
Dryden and Scott were not known as authors until each was in his fortieth year.
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles
I told him the Fortieth, and that I had been one of the forlorn hope.
The Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence
William Lawrence
His children are pensioned into the third and fourth and fortieth generation.
Memoirs
Charles Godfrey Leland
To be exact he did not go the length of the block between Thirty-ninth and Fortieth.
From Place to Place
Irvin S. Cobb

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

adj.

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