seventeenth

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sevententhe, also seventethe,^[2][3][4] continuing inherited from Old English seofontēoþa,^[5][3][6] with the ending reshaped in Middle English after seventene (“seventeen”);^[2][3][5] Etymonline describes the modern word as formed from English seventeen + -th, replacing the forms based on the Old English word.^[7] Northern Middle English forms such as seventend reflect Old Norse influence.^[3][8] The Old English word is formed from the Germanic bases of seven and tenth,^[8] and is cognate with West Frisian santjinde, Middle Dutch seventiende, Dutch zeventiende, Middle High German sibenzehende, German siebzehnte, Old Norse sjautjánde and Danish syttende.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Next after the sixteenth, with a noun: early Old English, in the translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History.^[8] The Middle English form is quoted from Havelok, about 1300,^[3] and Etymonline dates seventenþe to about 1300.^[7]

Semantic evolution

As an ordinal, the word has kept its meaning since Old English.^[8] The noun, the seventeenth person or thing, especially the seventeenth day of a month, is recorded from 1574 in the OED;^[8] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century.^[7] In music a seventeenth is an interval of two octaves and a third (1597, in Morley);^[8][2] from 1813 it was also an organ stop sounding at that interval, also called a tierce.^[8] The sense "one of seventeen equal parts" is recorded from 1728.^[8]

Timeline

• Old English – the ordinal number, next after the sixteenth.^[8]
• c. 1300 – the Middle English form, seventenþe.^[7][3]
• 1574 – noun, the seventeenth person or thing, especially a day of the month.^[8]
• 1597 – in music, an interval of two octaves and a third.^[8]
• 1728 – one of seventeen equal parts.^[8]
• 1813 – an organ stop sounding a seventeenth above the diapason.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Coming after the sixteenth in a series; being number 17: the seventeenth floor.^[9][2][8]
2. Being one of seventeen equal parts of something.^[2][9]

Noun

1. The seventeenth person or thing in a series, especially the seventeenth day of a month: The rent is due on the seventeenth.^[2][8]
2. One of seventeen equal parts; a fraction that, multiplied by seventeen, gives one.^[9][2][8]
3. (music) An interval of two octaves and a third.^[2][8]
4. (music) An organ stop sounding two octaves and a major third above the diapason.^[8]

Related words

• seventeen
• seven
• tenth
• seventh

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins