I. ˈten(t)th adjective
Etymology: Middle English tenthe, alteration (influenced by ten ) of tethe, from Old English tēotha; akin to Old Saxon tegotho tenth, Middle Low German tegedo; all from a prehistoric West Germanic ordinal whose first element is the source of Old English tīen, tȳn, tēn ten and whose second element is the source of Old English -otha, -tha -th — more at ten , -th
1. : being number 10 in a countable series
the tenth day
— see number table
2. : being one of 10 equal parts into which something is divisible
a tenth share of the money
II. noun
( plural tenths -n(t)s, -n(t)ths)
Etymology: Middle English tenthe, from tenthe, adjective
1. : number 10 in a countable series
the tenth of the month
2. : the quotient of a unit divided by 10 : one of 10 equal parts of something
one tenth of the total
3.
a. : a tax of one tenth levied on the personal property of a subject and granted to the English sovereign from 1272 to 1624
b. : a tenth part of the annual profit of every Anglican benefice paid from 1534 to 1703 to the crown and after 1703 into a special fund to aid needy churches or augment church livings
4.
a. : a musical interval embracing an octave and a third
b. : a note or tone at this interval
c. : an organ stop sounding a tenth above the normal pitch of the digitals played upon
5. : a unit of capacity for wine equal to one tenth of a United States gallon ; also : a bottle holding this quantity of wine
III. adverb
Etymology: tenth (I)
1. : in the tenth place
2. : with nine exceptions
the nation's tenth largest city