How do you pronounce forty?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfoɹti/.

Where does forty come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

forty

/ˈfoɹti/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.20 in modern English

Syllables: for-ty
IPA: /ˈfoɹti/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

num

The cardinal number occurring after thirty-nine and before forty-one, represented in Roman numerals as XL and in Arabic numerals as 40.

noun

A bottle (of beer) containing forty fluid ounces.

American usage; Slang

adj

Resembling or characteristic of a fort.

Example Sentences

"'Tis forty years this very day, Since you and I, old girl, were married."
"It's on, wrap my lips around the forty / And when it comes to getting another stogie […] Grab your forty, let's get keyed"

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwṓr Proto-Germanic *fedwōr Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ Proto-Indo-European *-t Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥-t(-s) Proto-Germanic *tegun(dz) Proto-Germanic *tigiwiz Proto-Germanic *fedwōr tigiwiz Proto-West Germanic *feuwar tigiwi Old English fēowertiġ Middle English fourty English forty From Middle English fourty, forty, from Old English fēowertiġ, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr tigiwiz (“forty”). By surface analysis, four + -ty.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: fourty, fēowertiġ, *fedwōr tigiwiz

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈfoɹti/
British English: /ˈfɔːti/

Usage

American usage
Slang

Inflected Forms

fourty (alternative, obsolete) forties (plural) more forty (comparative) most forty (superlative)

Derived Forms

fortyish fortypenny fortysomething Forties

Phrases

back forty forty-eighter forty-eleven forty-foot equivalent unit forty legs forty-leven Forty Mile forty-rod

Synonyms

twoscore 40 xl

Rhymes With

shorty morty sporty sortie forti conforti lortie monforte monteforte lacorte lamorte storti