# fifth

> English word · Adjective · IPA /fɪfθ/ · frequency rank #1,719

## Definitions
1. The ordinal form of the number five.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *pénkʷe
From Middle English fifthe, fifte, fift, from Old English fīfta (“fifth”), from Proto-Germanic *fimftô (“fifth”) or *femftô, equivalent to five + -th (ordinal suffix). Cognate with Scots fift, fyft (“fifth”), North Frisian fyfde (“fifth”), West Frisian fyfde (“fifth”), Dutch vijfde (“fifth”), Low German fifte, föfte, füfte (“fifth”), German fünfte (“fifth”), Danish femte (“fifth”), Swedish femte (“fifth”), Icelandic fimmta (“fifth”).

## Easily confused with
- **fit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-fit)
- **fish** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-fish)
- **fits** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-fits)
- **fist** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-fist)
- **forth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-forth)
- **fifty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-fifty)
- **finch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-finch)
- **fists** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-fists)
- **filth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-filth)
- **fitch** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-fitch)
- **firth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-firth)
- **froth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-froth)
- **frith** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-frith)
- **filthy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-filthy)
- **fifths** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifth-vs-fifths)
- **FIFA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifa-vs-fifth)
- **fiat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fiat-vs-fifth)
- **fife** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fife-vs-fifth)
- **fifi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fifi-vs-fifth)
- **faith** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/faith-vs-fifth)

## Common misspellings (8)
`ffifth`, `ffith`, `fiffth`, `fifht`, `fifthh`, `fiftth`, `fitfh`, `iffth`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/fifth