Seventh is a tricky word to spell because of its peculiar pronunciation. To help with this complexity, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) provides a useful way of representing it with the symbols /ˈsɛv.ənθ/. The word has three syllables: sev-en-th, with the emphasis on the first syllable. The tricky part of the spelling is the combination of the letters 'e' and 'v' which make the 'eh' sound. The 'th' at the end is also pronounced with a breathy "th" sound, similar to the "th" in "think."
Seventh is an ordinal number in the English language that represents the position of an object or person in a series, counting six objects or persons ahead. It is derived from the cardinal number seven. Seventh is commonly used to refer to the position of something in a sequence or the member of a group.
In a numerical context, seventh is represented by the symbol "7th" or written in word form as "seventh." It follows the numbers sixth and precedes the number eighth. It often refers to the object or person that is found after six others, usually in a linear or sequential order. For instance, if a list of numbers is arranged from one to ten, the seventh number would be the numeral seven (7).
Seventh can also be used to describe an equal division of something into seven parts. It signifies that a whole is divided into seven equal portions or segments. This fraction often appears as "1/7" and is used to express this division mathematically.
Furthermore, seventh is sometimes employed to describe the musical interval between two notes. It denotes the distance of seven degrees between two pitches in a diatonic scale. In the solmization system, this interval is represented by the syllable "ti" in the major scale. The term "seventh" is also commonly associated with chords, such as the dominant seventh, major seventh, and minor seventh, which consist of specific note combinations and intervals.
• That which follows the sixth; being one part in seven.
• In music, an interval which is a semitone less than an octave-called a seventh major.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "seventh" originated from the Old English word "seofonthe", which was derived from the Old English word "seofon" (seven) combined with the Old English suffix "-the" (used to form ordinal numbers). The Old English word "seofon" can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic word "sebun", and ultimately to the Proto-Indo-European root *septḿ̥ (seven). This root has also given rise to the Latin "septem", the Greek "hepta", and the Sanskrit "saptá", all of which mean "seven".