thirty-ninth
Meaning
constituting number thirty-nine in a sequence; 39th.
the person or thing that is number thirty-nine in a sequence.
Structure
Usage
she celebrated her thirty-ninth birthday with a quiet dinner.
he finished in thirty-ninth place in the marathon.
the thirty-ninth amendment to the constitution addressed a specific procedural issue.
Etymology
the word "thirty-ninth" is a modern english compound ordinal number, formed by combining the cardinal "thirty" with the ordinal "ninth." its first element, "thirty," originates from old english "þrītig," a transparent construction meaning "three tens," which itself has proto-germanic roots. the second element, "ninth," descends from old english "nigoþa," via the common germanic ordinal suffix "-th" attached to the cardinal "nine." the compound's logic is purely arithmetic, following the standard english pattern for forming ordinals above twenty by hyphenating the tens digit with the unit's ordinal form, directly indicating the position following the thirty-eighth.
Analysis
thirty: from old english 'þrītig', a compound of 'þrīe' (three) and '-tig' (group of ten), denoting three tens. ninth: from old english 'nigoþa', derived from the cardinal number 'nigon' (nine) with the ordinal suffix '-þa' (modern '-th'), meaning "constituting number nine in a sequence".