I. ˈfȯr]d.]ē, ˈfōr], ˈfȯ(ə)], ˈfōə], ]t], ]i adjective
Etymology: Middle English fourty, from Old English fēowertig, from fēowertig, n., group of 40, from fēower four + -tig group of 10 — more at four , eighty
: being one more than 39 in number
forty years
— see number table
II. pronoun, plural in construction
Etymology: Middle English fourty, from fourty, adjective
: 40 countable persons or things not specified but under consideration and being enumerated
forty are here
forty were found
III. noun
( -es )
1. : four tens : twice 20 : five times eight : two twenties : eight fives : two score
2.
a. : 40 units or objects
a total of forty
b. : a group or set of 40
arranged by forties
3. : the numerable quantity symbolized by the arabic numerals 40
4. : the 40th in a set or series ; especially : an article of clothing of the 40th size
wears a forty
5. : something having as an essential feature 40 units or members
6. : a 40-acre plot of land : one sixteenth of a section of land : a rectangular block of land with quarter-mile sides
7. : a boat of 40 tons burden
8. : three points won in a game of tennis
9. forties plural
a. : the numbers 40 to 49 inclusive
a score in the forties
low grades in the forties
b. : the members of a series or set of successive numbers that end in 40 to 49 inclusive
the forties of the preceding century
lives in the forties in the next block
c. : the portion of a continuum lying between 40 and 50 on a scale of measurement or segmentation
temperatures in the forties tomorrow
a man in his forties
dresses selling in the forties
in the latitude of the forties