steenth
PRONUNCIATION:
(steenth)
MEANING:
adjective:
1. Latest in an indefinitely long sequence.
2. One sixteenth.
ETYMOLOGY:
Alteration of the word sixteenth.
NOTES:
The formation of the word "steenth" from "sixteenth" took place through a process called aphesis (from Greek, literally "a letting go"). Aphesis occurs when an unstressed sound from the beginning of a word gets lost over time. Some other examples are:
"cute" from "acute"
"'tis" from "it is"
"gypsy" from "Egyptian", from the belief that Gypsies came from Egypt (they actually came from India).
USAGE:
"And for the steenth time I wondered why he hadn't phoned me."
Robert A. Heinlein; The Cat Who Walks Through Walls; Putnam Publishing; 1985.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The highest result of education is tolerance. -Helen Keller, author and lecturer (1880-1968)
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