vierte German · revision 35468

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 8th century, Old High German glosses|origins=ine-pro *kʷetwóres}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈfiːɐ̯tə/, /ˈfɪʁtə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vierte''' (no predicative form, strong nominative masculine singular vierter, not comparable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Older spellings include ''vierde'' and ''vierdt'' (Maaler, 1561).^(DWB|26, 310) Some dialects and Middle Dutch had forms like ''vierste'', made on the pattern of superlatives.^(DWB|26, 310)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|gmh|vierde]], [[inh|goh|fiordo]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*feurþō]], [[inh|gem-pro|*fedurþô|t=fourth]], the ordinal of [[vier]].^(Wiktionary)^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD) The same word is [[osx|fiortho]], [[ang|fēorþa]] (whence [[en|fourth]]), [[non|fjórði]], [[ofs|fiōrda]] and [[nl|vierde]]; the Gothic ordinal is not recorded.^(Kroonen 2013)^(DWB|26, 310) The West Germanic form lost its dental consonant by analogy with the cardinal.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The cardinal number goes back to [[ine-pro|*kʷetwóres|t=four]], seen in [[got|𐍆𐌹𐌳𐍅𐍉𐍂|tr=fidwōr]], [[la|quattuor]], [[grc|τέσσαρες|tr=téssares]] and [[lt|keturi|alt=keturì]].^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Wiktionary) Kroonen explains the Germanic ordinal from [[ine-pro|*kʷet-ur-to-]]: the zero grade inherited from Indo-European was replaced by a full grade, the first dental was lost by dissimilation, and the initial labial was taken over from the word for “fifth”.^(Kroonen 2013) Wiktionary gives the ordinal's ancestor as [[ine-pro|*kʷetwr̥tós]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old High German ''fiordo'' is recorded in glosses from the end of the 8th century, and then in the Benedictine Rule, Tatian, Otfrid and Notker, meaning “fourth”.^(Köbler AHD)^(Schützeichel 2012|103)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word has always been the ordinal “fourth”;^(Adelung 1793) Adelung records the phrase ''selb vierte kommen'', to come with three others.^(Adelung 1793) Adelung also notes that in High German the first syllable was pronounced very short, as if spelt ''virrte'', though the spelling ''ie'' was kept because of [[vier]]; the same holds for [[Viertel]], [[vierzehn]] and [[vierzig]].^(Adelung 1793)^(DWB|26, 310) The Grimms' dictionary adds that the shortening was widespread in colloquial speech but avoided in educated speech.^(DWB|26, 310)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 8th century – Old High German ''fiordo'' appears in glosses.^(Köbler AHD)^(Pfeifer 1993)

+ * Middle High German – The forms ''vierde'' and ''vierte''.^(Pfeifer 1993)^(Köbler AHD)

+ * 1561 – Maaler's dictionary has ''der vierdt'' “quartus”.^(DWB|26, 310)

+ * 18th century – Adelung notes the short pronunciation ''virrte''.^(Adelung 1793)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|fourth]]: the ordinal number of [[vier]]: ''der vierte Stock'';^(Wiktionary)^(Adelung 1793) ''zum vierten Mal''.^(Wiktionary)^(Adelung 1793)

+ # As a noun, ''der Vierte'': the fourth day of a month, or the fourth in a series.^(Wiktionary)^(DWB|26, 310)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vier]]

+ * [[Viertel]]

+ * [[vierzehn]]

+ * [[vierzig]]

+ * [[en|fourth]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}