The Germanic suffix -th is for "process" (as in bath, death). The meaning "condition into which a person is born, lineage, descent" is attested from c. 1200 (it was also in the Old English word). In reference to non-living things, "any coming into existence" is from 1610s. Birth control is from 1914; birth certificate is from 1842.

Dec 3, 2016 · In general, the suffix -th that creates nouns from adjectives comes from Proto-Germanic *-iþō. Since this was already a suffix in Proto-Germanic, it definitely was not a separate word in Old English.

Aug 23, 2014 · The addition of -th/ -eth relates to numbers 4 to 20 (and similarly,) and is a suffix to the cardinal number. However, as in the second and third examples, the rd & st simply come from the right-end of the word for the ordinal number:

Apr 3, 2025 · From Middle English -eth, -th, from Old English -eþ, -aþ, -þ. -th. (archaic) A variant of -eth, used to form the archaic third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs. Derived from Proto-Albanian *-ts, from Proto-Indo-European *-ḱos. -th m. used to form diminutive suffix. Originally two distinct suffixes:

What Do “st,” “nd,” “rd,” And “th” Mean? “St,” “nd,” “rd,” and “th” are suffixes that we can include at the end of a number. They allow us to turn words like “One” into “first,” “two” into “second,” and “three” into “third.” They are used to create lists or orders of how things might have happened.

With Proto-Germanic abstract noun suffix *-itho (see -th (2)). From the same root as strong; compare length/long.... The medial -th- developed early 14c. but was rare before early 16c. (compare gather, murder, burden).... The form with -th- is from 1590s in English....

-th, suffix¹ was first published in 1912; not yet revised.-th, suffix¹ was last modified in December 2024.

In the original Hebrew, the suffix was -oth or -ot, and it is a plural suffix. Those words were borrowed into English with the plural already attached, and are now regarded as monomorphemic; i.e. they have no suffix in English.

The English suffix -th may form: ordinal numerals; verbal nouns; the archaic 3rd person singular form, see Early Modern English

a suffix used in the formation of ordinal numbers ( fourth, tenth ), in some cases, added to altered stems of the cardinal ( fifth; twelfth ).