thousandths
Meaning
The ordinal number corresponding to one thousand; the position in a sequence after the nine hundred and ninety-ninth.
Each of one thousand equal parts into which something is or may be divided.
Structure
Usage
The precision instrument can measure to within a few thousandths of an inch.
In the decimal 0.345, the digit 5 is in the thousandths place.
The votes for the two leading candidates were separated by only a few thousandths of a percent.
Etymology
The word 'thousandths' is a layered construction built upon the ancient Germanic root for the large cardinal number 'thousand'. This root, þūsend, is itself of uncertain deeper origin, though it may be related to a compound meaning 'swollen hundred'. The addition of the ordinal suffix '-th', a native English feature shared with other Germanic languages, transforms the cardinal number into its sequential or fractional form, 'thousandth'. Finally, the plural '-s' is appended, following standard English grammatical rules, to denote multiple instances of this ordinal or fractional unit. Thus, the word's logic progresses from a specific quantity, to its position in order or its role as a single division, to the plural concept of multiple such divisions.
Analysis
thousand: From Old English þūsend, of Germanic origin; the cardinal number representing 10 x 100. th: A suffix of Germanic origin used to form ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers (e.g., fourth, tenth). s: A suffix of Germanic origin, the regular plural marker for nouns in English.