Forty

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈfɔːti/

Definitions

1. This term denotes the quantity of four tens, often used in various counting and mathematical contexts
2. It signifies a cardinal number used to express the amount of items or units equal to four groups of ten
3. This designation represents the numerical value obtained by multiplying four by ten, commonly used in arithmetic and counting situations

Etymology: The number forty is one of the few English numerals whose name has a clearly visible seam: it is built from "four" and the suffix "-ty," which once meant "ten" in its own right. The older form was "fēowertiġ," which literally counted four tens, and the "-tig" ending is the same element still heard in "twenty," "thirty," and the rest of the decade series. Over time the sounds softened, the "w" dropped out of "fower," and "fourty" settled into "forty" as the spelling standardised in the Middle English period. The word's ancestry runs back to Proto-Germanic *fedwōr tigiwiz, which combined the root for "four" with a word for "ten," so the arithmetic in the name was never hidden. Like most of the numerals, it is a native Germanic word, not a borrowing from Latin or French.