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fortieth

fortieth

4 1.0
Coming after thirty-nine others in a list
  • adjective
  • /ˈfɔrtiəθ/
translation icon : cuadragésimo
  • Celebrate African Arts, now entering into its fortieth year!
  • the fortieth anniversary
  • the fortieth birthday

Examples

  • Clark, a woman still unmarried, panics when her fortieth birthday comes due.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Today is my fortieth birthday.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • But for my fortieth birthday?

  • It's smaller than the gift you gave me last year... for my fortieth birthday.

  • Think we'll be having a fortieth wedding ceremony?

  • Our association has just celebrated its fortieth anniversary.

  • The Ashtons were in New York on holiday celebrating their fortieth anniversary.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • We recently marked the fortieth anniversary of the tragedy that befell Bobby Kennedy.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Tonight was his fortieth birthday, and a lot of people were coming over to fête him.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • She celebrated her fortieth birthday with a big party and invited all her friends.

Synonyms

40th
vsfortieth
43 1.0

Number forty in a list or order

uses words rather than digits to show the same ordinal

Surface Forms

fortieth positive

Morphology

fortieth = forty (transparent) = forty + ieth

Formed from 'forty' with the regular ordinal ending (y→i + -eth), so the adjectival ordinal meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

The word fortieth comes from the number forty plus the ending -th, which shows order or place. As an adjective it means 'coming after thirty-nine others', so the fortieth chapter or day is number 40 in a list.