zestiende

Zestiende is the Dutch ordinal numeral that designates the position of sixteenth in a sequence. It functions as an adjective before a noun, as in de zestiende persoon or het zestiende kind, and can also stand as a substantive referring to that position, as in de zestiende.

Etymology and form: Zestiende is derived from zestien (sixteen) with the ordinal suffix used for numbers ending in -tien, resulting in zestiende. It is part of a regular series of Dutch ordinals: vijftiende (fifteenth), zestiende (sixteenth), zeventiende (seventeenth), achttiende (eighteenth), negentiende (nineteenth), twintigste (twentieth). In compound forms such as centuries, zestiende eeuw means the sixteenth century.

Usage: The word is used to express order or rank, for example: Hij is de zestiende in de rij (He is the sixteenth in line), Zij werd gekozen als de zestiende lid van de commissie, Zijn zestiende verjaardag is volgende week. In dates Dutch normally uses cardinal numbers (16 juli) rather than ordinals, though the ordinal form may appear in literary, formal, or special contexts.

See also: Vijftiende, zeventiende, achttiende, negentiende, twintigste. The term is also used in historical contexts, for example de zestiende eeuw to denote the sixteenth century. In Dutch language reference, zestiende serves as the standard ordinal for the number sixteen across contemporary usage.