-eth
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English -eth, -th, -ith, from Old English -eþ, -aþ, -þ, from Proto-Germanic *-þi, *-di, from Proto-Indo-European *-ti.
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-əθ/, /ɪθ/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- There is some evidence that verbs written with this ending in Early Modern English were pronounced as if they ended in -s, which was common in speech before becoming common in writing. Alternatively (or in addition to the former) the Northumbrian dialect of Old English's third-person singular present indicative suffix, -s, may have eventually displaced the -eth suffix.
Suffix
-eth
- (archaic) Used to form the third-person singular present indicative of verbs.
- Pride goeth before a fall... The good Lord giveth and the good Lord taketh away...
- (humorous) Used broadly with various verb forms for ironic pseudoarchaic or pseudoecclesiastical effect.
Coordinate terms
See also
- -e (pseudoarchaic)
Etymology 2
From Middle English -th, -eth, -the, -ethe, from Old English -þa, -þe, -oþa, from Proto-Germanic *-þô, *-tô, *-udô, *-dô, from Proto-Indo-European *-tós.
Suffix
-eth
- used to create ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers ending in -y, namely the multiples of ten (other than ten itself): 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90; e.g. twentieth, thirtieth.
Derived terms
English terms suffixed with -eth
Anagrams
Cornish
Etymology
From Middle Cornish -eth, from Proto-Brythonic *-aɨθ, from Proto-Celtic *-axtā, from *axtā. Cognate with Breton -ezh, Irish -acht, Manx -aght, Scottish Gaelic -achd, and Welsh -aeth. Related to -ieth.
Suffix
-eth f (countable or uncountable, plural -ethow)
- Forms abstract nouns
- yowynk (“young”) + -eth → yowynkneth (“youth”)
- diwyethek (“bilingual”) + -eth → diwyethogeth (“bilingualism”)
- esel (“member”) + -eth → eseleth (“membership”)
Usage notes
- Often added with epenthetic n
Derived terms
Cornish terms suffixed with -eth
Middle English
Etymology 1
Alternative forms
Suffix
-eth
- Used to form the third-person singular present indicative of verbs.
Etymology 2
Suffix
-eth
- alternative form of -the (abstract nominal suffix)
Etymology 3
Suffix
-eth
- alternative form of -the (ordinal suffix)