ferthe

Middle English

Middle English numbers ^(edit)

	40
←  3	4	5  →
Cardinal: four     Ordinal: ferthe

Alternative forms

• fourthe, ferþe, fourþe, feurþe, fourte, ferth, fferth, fourth, fourt, verþe, firþe, firthe, fuyrthe
• (Early Middle English) feorþe, veorðe, feorðe, forðe
• IIII^th

Etymology

From Old English fēorþa, fēowerþa; equivalent to and often remodelled after four +‎ -the (ordinal suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛːrθ(ə)/, /ˈfɛrθ(ə)/, /ˈfiu̯rθ(ə)/, /ˈfɔu̯rθ(ə)/, /-t(ə)/, /-ð(ə)/

Adjective

ferthe

1. fourth
   • c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎^[1], published c. 1410, Apocalips 4:7, page 118v, column 2; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:

     ⁊ þe firſte beeſte .· liyk a lioun / ⁊ þe ſecounde beeſte .· lijk a calf / ⁊ þe þꝛidde beeſte .· hauynge a face as of a man / ⁊ þe fourþe beeſte .· liyk an egle fleynge

     And the first beast [was] like a lion; and the second beast [was] like a calf; and the third beast had a face like a human; and the fourth beast [was] like an eagle flying.

   • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath's Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, lines 451–452:

     Swiche manere wordes hadde we on honde / Now wol I ſpeken of my fourthe houſbonde.

     Those kinds of words we had on hand / Now I'll speak of my fourth husband.

Descendants

• English: fourth
• Scots: fourt
• Yola: vourthe

References

• “fẹ̄rthe, num.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-17.

Noun

ferthe

1. One of four equal parts of a whole; a fourth.

Descendants

• English: fourth
• Scots: fourt

References

• “fẹ̄rthe, num.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-17.