fortieth
/ˈfɔː.ti.əθ/
"fortieth" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fortieth” is uncommon English (frequency #63,626 among 18,613 “F” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #63,626
- frequency rank, English
- 18,613
- “F” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The ordinal form of the number forty.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fortieth |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈfɔː.ti.əθ/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #63,626 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fortieth” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
fortieth is uncommon English at frequency #63,626 among 18,613 “F” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈfɔː.ti.əθ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The ordinal form of the number forty.".
fortieth has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From earlier fourteth, from Middle English fourtithe, fourtiþe; equivalent to forty + -eth. For the modern form, see the etymological notes at twentieth. The correct English form is fortieth, spelled F-O-R-T-I-E-T-H.
Definition
- 1The ordinal form of the number forty.
Etymology
From earlier fourteth, from Middle English fourtithe, fourtiþe; equivalent to forty + -eth. For the modern form, see the etymological notes at twentieth.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “fortieth”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-O-R-T-I-E-T-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfɔː.ti.əθ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.