twentieth

Meaning

Adj

The ordinal form of the number twenty.

Noun

1. A person or thing in the twentieth position.
2. One of twenty equal parts of a whole.

Synonyms

twenty

20th

number twenty

Translations

vingtième

20th

ventesimo

20th

vigésimo

20th

vigésimo

20th

twintigste

20th

ventesima

vicesimus

20th

vigésima

εικοστός

zwanzigste

20th

veinteavo

20th

vicesima

vicesimum

vintè

20th

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtwɛn.ti.əθ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: twentithe

Inherited from Old English: twēntigoþa

In summary

From earlier twenteth, twentith, from Middle English twentithe, twentiþe, from Old English twēntigoþa. Equivalent to twenty + -eth.
Etymological notes
twentith, twenteth is the expected development from Middle English twentithe, but in time, the opaque twent- was replaced by a more transparent twenty-, resulting in modern twentieth (in the speech varieties this occurred in, the weak vowel in the final syllable of twenteth, twentith was clearly distinct from that in twenty); similar processes explain the modern pronunciation of thirtieth, fourtieth, etc. This analogy was assisted by synizetic pronunciations of words such as carrying, which allowed twenteth, twentith to be interpreted as contractions of twentieth.