Etymologically
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nineteenth

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˌnaɪnˈtiːnθ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English nyntenthe, an alteration, under the influence of nineteen, of nyentethe,[2][3][4] inherited from Old English nigontēoþa, from the base of nine and that of tenth.[5][6][2] Klein explains the Middle English form as made by adding -th to nineteen, on the pattern of fourth.[7] The Old English word is cognate with Old Frisian niuguntīnda, Dutch negentiende, Old High German niuntazehanto, German neunzehnte and Old Norse nítjándi.[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Next in order after the eighteenth: early Old English, in the Parker manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, under the year 855;[5] the noun, the nineteenth person or thing of a series, is in Ælfric's Grammar.[5] Etymonline dates the modern form nyntenthe to the late 14th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

The ordinal has kept its meaning since Old English;[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "the ninth after the tenth".[8] In music, from 1597 in Thomas Morley, a nineteenth is an interval of two octaves and a fifth, and since 1813 also an organ stop sounding at that interval.[5][2] As a fraction, one of nineteen equal parts, it is recorded from 1755.[5] In golf slang, originally American, the nineteenth hole is the clubhouse bar, reached after the eighteen holes of a round (1901);[5][6] by 1948 the nineteenth alone could mean the same.[5]

Timeline

  • Old English – next in order after the eighteenth.[5]
  • late 14th century – the form nyntenthe.[4]
  • 1597 – (music) an interval of two octaves and a fifth.[5]
  • 1755 – one of nineteen equal parts.[5]
  • 1813 – (music) an organ stop.[5]
  • 1901 – the nineteenth hole, a golf clubhouse bar.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Coming next after the eighteenth in a series; the ordinal of nineteen: the nineteenth century.
  2. Being one of nineteen equal parts.

Noun

  1. The nineteenth person or thing in a series, especially the nineteenth day of a month: The meeting is on the nineteenth.
  2. One of nineteen equal parts of something; the fraction one divided by nineteen.
  3. (music) An interval of two octaves and a fifth, or an organ stop sounding at this interval.

Word family

  • nineteenth hole

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.