Middle English Dictionary Entry
fī̆fte ord. num.
Entry Info
| Forms | fī̆fte ord. num. Also fifth(e, fijfte, fivet, fivethe, vifte. |
| Etymology | OE fīfta. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
Fifth in order; -- (a) with or (b) without a noun.
Associated quotations
a
- c1175 Orm.(Jun 1)1893 : Þatt wass o þe fifte daȝȝ.
- c1175 Orm.(Jun 1)1913 : O þe fiffte daȝȝ.
- a1325(c1250) Gen.& Ex.(Corp-C 444)165-6 : Ðis fifte dai held forð his fligt, And forð endede ðat fifte nigt.
- c1325(c1300) Glo.Chron.A (Clg A.11)5878 : Seint Edward þe vifte ȝer of is kinedom..aslawe was.
- c1390(a1325) Ipotis (Vrn)73 : Þe fyfþe heuene is long and brod.
- (c1395) Chaucer CT.WB.(Manly-Rickert)D.503 : My fifthe housbonde.
- a1400(a1325) Cursor (Vsp A.3)1464 : Iareth þat was þe fiuet [Trin-C: fifte] kne fra seth.
- a1400(a1325) Cursor (Vsp A.3)397 : Þe fifte [Göt: fijfte] dai.
- a1400(?a1350) Siege Troy(1) (Eg 2862)1171 : Of Troye þis is þe fyfþe bataile.
- c1425(a1420) Lydg.TB (Aug A.4)2.282 : Þe fyfte sone was a worþi knyȝte.
- c1425(a1420) Lydg.TB (Aug A.4)3.273 : Þe fyfþe warde.
- a1425(c1385) Chaucer TC (Benson-Robinson)5.1205 : The thridde, ferthe, fifte, sexte day.
- a1425(a1382) WBible(1) (Corp-O 4)Gen.30.17 : She..bare the fift [WB(2): fyuethe] sone.
- a1450(1412) Glade in god þis (Dgb 102)41 : The fyfte sawȝtnyng.
- a1450 St.Editha (Fst B.3)365 : Etheldrede..Was þe fyuethe founder.
- (a1470) Malory Wks.(Win-C)444/14 : All people sholde be at his castell the fifth day aftir.
b
- (c1390) Chaucer CT.Pars.(Manly-Rickert)I.827 : The fifthe is foryetelnesse.
- (a1393) Gower CA (Frf 3)7.611 : Yit ther is an Element Above the foure, and is the fifte..The which that Orbis cleped is.
- (1415) Will in Bdf.HRS 220 : Kyng Herry þe fifte.
2.
Mus. A note five diatonic steps above or below a given note; the interval between two notes five steps apart on the diatonic scale.
Associated quotations
- a1450 Treat.Music (Lnsd 763)248/18 : Ferst for thirde & fyfte, thou shalt haue thi pleyng-song: re, vt, my, re, ffa, my, sol, ffa, la, sol.
- a1450 Treat.Music (Lnsd 763)251/10 : Also for a 6te with a 5te, [þe pl]ainsong shal be vt, re, re, my, my, ffa, ffa, sol, sol, l[a].
3.
Phrases: (a) fifte beinge, quintessence [transl. ML quinta essentia]; (b) fifte dai, ?the fifth court day or term; (c) fifte half, four and a half; (d) fifte joie, the fifth joy of the Virgin, i.e. the Assumption; (e) fifte part or met, one of five equal parts of a whole, a fifth.
Associated quotations
a
- a1475 Bk.Quint.(Sln 73)12/1 : To drawe out þe 5 beynge from..al maner fleisch of Brut beestis.
- a1475 Bk.Quint.(Sln 73)11/33 : Þe 5 beynge of blood deuyn.
b
- (1209) Pipe R.Winch66/16 : Et de vjd de Ricardo de Willa pro sursisa, quia non venit ad fiftedai cum secta hundredi.
c
- c1275(?a1200) Lay.Brut (Clg A.9)32195 : Ne wunede þe king þer bute uifte half ȝer.
d
- a1350 Ase y me rod (Hrl 2253)49 : Þe fifte ioie of þat wymman.
- a1400 Cursor (Göt Theol 107)25659 : [Þe] fijft [joy] þu was til heuen broght.
e
- a1400(a1325) Cursor (Vsp A.3)4610 : In ilk land men for to sett To-geder ilk fijft [Göt: fijfte; Trin-C, Frf: fifte] mett O þe time þat es plente.
- ?a1425(a1400) Brut-1377 (Corp-C 174)293/29 : Þe King askeþ þe vif part [vr. xve part] of alle þe meble goodez of Engelond.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
- ?a1400 Numer.Algorism (Hal)30 : In the ferye place, he [the number 1] tokeneth a thousand..In the fyftye place..ten thousand.
Note: New spelling
Note: In this, the numeral defines a specific position, which seems different from a general xth order.--per MLL
Supplemental Materials (draft)
- a1550 *Ripley CAlch.(BodeMus 63)60a : Sonne and mone loke thow renew that they may hold of the fyfte nature.
- a1550 *Ripley CAlch.(BodeMus 63)61a : When they [elements] be iche one made pure, Then do they hold all of the fyfte nature.
Note: New sense: alch. ~ nature
Note: = 'mediating fifth' (fifth being, quintessence, ether, etc.)--per KF
- a1550 *Ripley CAlch.(BodeMus 63)48a : Nature dothe not blime [read: blinne], Makynge divisione of qualites elementall Into a fyfte degree Till they be turned all.
Note: ~ degree
- (a1398) Trev.Barth.(Add 27944:Seymour)225/25 : Þe swifte [read: fifte] is þe litile fynge[r]..wiþ hym we..piken þe eres.
Note: New spelling (error)