# fourth

> English word · Adjective · IPA /fɔːθ/ · frequency rank #1,562

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

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English fourthe, an alteration (due to four) of ferthe, from Old English fēorþa, fēowerþa, from Proto-West Germanic *feurþō, from Proto-Germanic *fedurþô, equivalent to four + -th (ordinal suffix).
Cognates
Compare West Frisian fjirde, Saterland Frisian fjädde, fjoode, Dutch vierde, German Low German feerde, feerd, German vierte, Danish fjerde, Icelandic fjórði.

## Easily confused with
- **four** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/four-vs-fourth)
- **fort** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fort-vs-fourth)
- **forth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forth-vs-fourth)
- **forty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forty-vs-fourth)
- **forte** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/forte-vs-fourth)
- **firth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/firth-vs-fourth)

## Common misspellings (9)
`ffourth`, `foruth`, `fourht`, `fourrth`, `fourthh`, `fourtth`, `foutrh`, `fuorth`, `ofurth`

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