seventeenth

American  

[sev-uhn-teenth] / ˈsɛv ənˈtinθ /

adjective

1. next after the sixteenth; being the ordinal number for 17.

2. being one of 17 equal parts.

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noun

1. a seventeenth part, especially of one (1/17).

2. the seventeenth member of a series.

seventeenth British  

/ ˈsɛvənˈtiːnθ /

adjective

1. (usually prenominal)

   1. coming after the sixteenth in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of seventeen: often written 17th

   2. ( as noun )

      the ship docks on the seventeenth

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noun

1. 1. one of 17 approximately equal parts of something

   2. ( as modifier )

      a seventeenth part

2. the fraction equal to one divided by 17 ( 1/ 17 )

Etymology

Origin of seventeenth

before 900; seventeen + -th ²; replacing Middle English seventethe, Old English seofontēotha. ( see seven, tithe)

Example Sentences

It’s the negative image of an important intellectual movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Enlightenment, whose principles formed, among other things, the basis for American democracy.

From Salon • Jun. 25, 2025

In the seventeenth century, Thomas Hobbes pegged laughter as the companion of scorn.

From Salon • Nov. 18, 2024

Ever since Antonie van Leeuwenhoek discovered the world of bacteria through a microscope in the late seventeenth century, humans have tried to look deeper into the world of the infinitesimally small.

From Science Daily • Oct. 18, 2023

The institution of serfdom was cemented in the midst of the chaos of the seventeenth century.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

I ask only this: that you allow Harry to return, once more, to this house, before his seventeenth birthday, which will ensure that the protection continues until that time.”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling