seventh

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɛvnθ/ (UK); /ˈsɛvənθ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is a Middle English formation from seven and -th,^[2][3] replacing sevende, seveth, which are inherited from Old English seofoþa, Anglian seofunda,^[2][4][3] from Proto-Germanic *sebunþô, from *sebun, seven; compare Old Norse sjaundi, Old High German sibunto and Sanskrit सप्तथ (saptatha, “seventh”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Next after the sixth: about 950 in the OED, counting the Old English forms;^[5] the new formation from seven is from about 1300.^[2] MWU dates it to the 12th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

As a noun, the one next after the sixth, it is from late Old English, and one of seven equal parts by the 1550s.^[2] In music, the interval between a tone and the tone seven degrees above it is a seventh by the 1590s.^[2] The seventh heaven, a state of great joy, is from 1818,^[5] and the seventh wave, thought to be the largest in a series, from 1891.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 950 – Old English seofoþa.^[5]
• c. 1300 – seventh, from seven.^[2]
• 1550s – a seventh part.^[2]
• 1590s – in music.^[2]
• 1818 – seventh heaven.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Coming next after the sixth in order, place or time.

Noun

1. One of seven equal parts.
2. (music) The interval between a note and the note seven degrees above or below it, or a chord built on it.

Word family

• seventh chord
• seventh heaven

Related words

• seven
• seventeen
• seventy
• septet

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press