nineteenth

Nineteenth is the ordinal form of the number nineteen. It is used to indicate position in a sequence, to refer to a specific day, or to denote a historical period or item in a list. For example, the nineteenth day of a month, the nineteenth century, or the nineteenth entry in a catalog.

Formation and spelling

The word is formed by adding the standard English ordinal suffix -th to the cardinal nineteen, yielding nineteenth. This pattern is shared with other ordinals that derive from the numbers ending in -teen, such as eighteenth and twentieth, though each uses its own vowel and consonant adjustments in pronunciation.

Usage and contexts

Common uses include calendar dates (the nineteenth of July), centuries (the nineteenth century, generally 1801–1900), and enumerated items in sequences (the nineteenth chapter). In proper nouns, the ordinal form appears in titles or named events, such as the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1920.

Numerical and linguistic notes

Nineteenth is one of the regular English ordinals formed by a straightforward suffix addition, unlike the irregular first, second, or third. The plural form nineteenths is used when referring to fractions with denominator 19 (for example, three nineteenths).

In summary, nineteenth serves as a standard ordinal indicating the position after eighteenth and before twentieth, with applications across dates, history, and mathematical expressions.