Etymologically
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seventeenth

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Pronunciation

  • /ˌsɛvənˈtiːnθ/[1]

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]

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