*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -ty

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *tigiwiz Old English -tiġ Middle English -ty English -ty From Middle English -ty, from Old English -tiġ (“-ty”), from Proto-Germanic *tigiwiz, plural of *teguz (“group of ten”), from Proto-I

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
suffix

A nonproductive suffix indicating single-digit integer multiples of ten.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *tigiwiz Old English -tiġ Middle English -ty English -ty From Middle English -ty, from Old English -tiġ (“-ty”), from Proto-Germanic *tigiwiz, plural of *teguz (“group of ten”), from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-, *déḱm̥ (“ten”). Cognate with Scots -ty (“-ty”), West Frisian -tich (“-ty”), Dutch -tig (“-ty”), German -zig (“-ty”), Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌿𐍃 (tigus, “group of ten, decade”). Related to ten.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-ty",
        "id": "multiple",
        "tree": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *tigiwiz\nOld English -tiġ\nMiddle English -ty\nEnglish -ty\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"-tiġ\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-ty\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ty\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"multiple\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-ty\" id=\"English:_multiple\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-ty"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -ty"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "-tiġ",
        "4": "",
        "5": "-ty"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English -tiġ (“-ty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*tigiwiz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *tigiwiz"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*deḱ-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sco",
        "2": "-ty",
        "3": "",
        "4": "-ty"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots -ty (“-ty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fy",
        "2": "-tich",
        "3": "",
        "4": "-ty"
      },
      "expansion": "West Frisian -tich (“-ty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "-tig",
        "3": "",
        "4": "-ty"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch -tig (“-ty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "-zig",
        "3": "",
        "4": "-ty"
      },
      "expansion": "German -zig (“-ty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌿𐍃",
        "3": "",
        "4": "group of ten, decade"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌿𐍃 (tigus, “group of ten, decade”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-ty",
        "id": "multiple",
        "tree": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *déḱm̥\nProto-Indo-European *-t\nProto-Indo-European *déḱm̥-t(-s)\nProto-Germanic *tegun(dz)\nProto-Germanic *teguz\nProto-Germanic *tigiwiz\nOld English -tiġ\nMiddle English -ty\nEnglish -ty"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*tigiwiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tigiwiz"
    ],
    [
      "-tiġ",
      "-tig#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ty",
      "-ty#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ty",
      "-ty#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-tiġ",
      "-tig#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*tigiwiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/tigiwiz"
    ],
    [
      "*teguz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/teguz"
    ],
    [
      "*deḱ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/deḱ-"
    ],
    [
      "*déḱm̥",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/déḱm̥"
    ],
    [
      "-ty",
      "-ty#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "-tich",
      "-tich#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "-tig",
      "-tig#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "-zig",
      "-zig#German"
    ],
    [
      "𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌿𐍃",
      "𐍄𐌹𐌲𐌿𐍃#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "ten",
      "ten#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "A nonproductive suffix indicating single-digit integer multiples of ten."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "231e99a572be3b17236372374682209368e37b09e0847d359fbc734403de9927",
      "rawRecordSha256": "51d9c37a2bb0c4daf5e18986ee50f2fd8fb5139cc704d2e96c8e9d103f648e79",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1602758
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
suffix

Alternative form of -ity, used to form abstract nouns from adjectives.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Latin -tās Old French -tebor. Middle English -te English -ty From Middle English -te, from Old French -te, from Latin -tās, -tātem.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mention-teenm
  • Derivation mention-tefro
  • Derivation mention-tasla
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-te",
        "tree": "+",
        "id": "-ity"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin -tās\nOld French -tebor.\nMiddle English -te\nEnglish -ty\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-tās\", \"status\" : \"ambiguous\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"-te\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-te\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ty\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"-ity\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-ty\" id=\"English:_-ity\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-te"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -te"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-te"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French -te"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-tas",
        "4": "-tās, -tātem"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -tās, -tātem"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-te",
        "tree": "+",
        "id": "-ity"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nLatin -tās\nOld French -tebor.\nMiddle English -te\nEnglish -ty"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-tās",
      "-tas#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-te",
      "-te#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-te",
      "-te#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-te",
      "-te#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-te",
      "-te#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-tās, -tātem",
      "-tas#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of -ity, used to form abstract nouns from adjectives."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "countable",
        "morpheme",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "03c09c51090867e29508c7c86933e712bb7a241612255b0409aaa0db6b5a5c38",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3745757e4614d370594d2c303af7d93c7073b018dfb928c4a443ee85f020a0f2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1602759
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -ty →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LXR5