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Added 9 October 2026

fifth

/fɪfθ/ adjective

In Latin: quintus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about fifth at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

The ordinal form of the number five.

noun

The person or thing in the fifth position. The fifth gear of a transmission.
The fifth gear of a transmission.
One of five equal parts of a whole: one-fifth.

verb

To sing in the fifth voice in a polyphonic melody.
To support something fifth, after four others have already done so.
To divide by five.

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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