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eighteenth

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Etymology and origin of the English word eighteenth

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Old English translation of Orosius
From
Old English eahtateoþa via Middle English

Pronunciation

  • /ˌeɪˈtiːnθ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English eightetenthe, also eightenthe, an alteration under the influence of eightetene (“eighteen”) of eightetethe,[2][3] inherited from Old English eahtatēoþa,[4][3][5] formed from eahta (“eight”) and tēoþa (“tenth”).[4][6][7] The modern form is eighteen with the ordinal suffix -th, after fourth and the other ordinals.[4][8][7] It is cognate with Old Norse áttjándi and Old Frisian ahtatīnda;[4][8][7] according to the OED, the numeral is not recorded in the other old Germanic languages.[4] Etymonline compares German achtzehnte, Danish attende and Swedish adertonde.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Next in order after the seventeenth, in the Old English translation of Orosius: On ðam eahtateóðan geáre, in the eighteenth year.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has not changed, only the form:[4][3] Old English eahtatēoþa gave Middle English eightetethe, which was remade after the cardinal eightetene as eightetenthe,[2][3] recorded in 1258 in a proclamation of Henry III.[3][6] Johnson (1755) defined it as "the next in order to the seventeenth".[9] As a noun it names the eighteenth of a series, such as the day of a month or a monarch of a given name, and in music an interval of eighteen notes (late 19th century).[8]

Timeline

  • Old English – eahtatēoþa, in the translation of Orosius.[4][5]
  • 1258 – the Middle English form Eȝtetenþe, in a proclamation of Henry III.[3]
  • c. 1300 – eiȝteteoþe, in the South English Legendary.[3]
  • late 19th century – in music, the interval of an eighteenth.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Coming next after the seventeenth in a series; being number 18: the eighteenth hole.[10][2][8]
  2. Being one of eighteen equal parts of something.[2][10]

Noun

  1. The eighteenth person or thing in a series, especially the eighteenth day of a month.[2][8]
  2. One of eighteen equal parts of a whole; the fraction one divided by 18.[10][2]
  3. In music, an interval spanning eighteen notes of the diatonic scale.[8]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Eighteenth.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/eighteenth. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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