science

Ordinal numeral

Ordinal numeral is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ordinal numeral rather than just read about it. In short: In linguistics, ordinal numerals or ordinal number words are words representing position or rank in a sequential order; the order may be of size, importance, chronology, and so on (e.g., "third", "tertiary"). They differ from cardinal numerals, which represent quantity (e.g., "three") and other types of numerals.

Key takeaways

Ordinal numeral belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ordinal numeral to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ordinal numeral from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In linguistics, ordinal numerals or ordinal number words are words representing position or rank in a sequential order; the order may be of size, importance, chronology, and so on (e.g., "third", "tertiary"). They differ from cardinal numerals, which represent quantity (e.g., "three") and other types of numerals.

Grammar In traditional grammar, all numerals, including ordinal numerals, are grouped into a separate part of speech (Latin: nomen numerale, hence, "noun numeral" in older English grammar books). However, in modern interpretations of English grammar, ordinal numerals are usually considered adjectives. Ordinal numbers may be written in English with numerals and letter suffixes: 1st, 2nd or 2d, 3rd or 3d, 4th, 11th, 21st, 101st, 477th, etc., with the suffix acting as an ordinal indicator. Written dates often omit the suffix, although it is nevertheless pronounced. For example: 5 November 1605 (pronounced "the fifth of November ... "); November 5, 1605, ("November (the) Fifth ..."). When written out in full with "of", however, the suffix is retained: the 5th of November. In other languages, different ordinal indicators are used to write ordinal numbers.

How ordinals are formed by language

Oral/spoken languages

English

In English, the main ordinal series is 'first', 'second', .... It is used in a variety of rankings, including time ('the first hour of the event'), space ('the first left'), and quality ('first class cabin'). With the exception of the word 'second', the main ordinal series are all words derived from Old English. ('Second', which came from Latin into English via French around 1300, replaced the Old English word for 'other', which no longer carries the definition of second, except in certain phrases like "every other day"). The Latinate series 'primary', 'secondary', ... is often used for importance, or precedence ('primary consideration') and sequence of dependence ('secondary effect', 'secondary boycott', 'secondary industry'), though there are other uses as well ('primary school', 'primary election'). The first two in the sequence are by far the most common; 'tertiary' appears occasionally, and higher numbers are rare except in specialized contexts ('quaternary period'). The Greek series proto-, deutero-, trito-, ... is only found in prefixes, generally scholarly and technical coinages, e.g. protagonist, deuteragonist, tritagonist; protium, deuterium, tritium; Proto-Isaiah, Deutero-Isaiah. Numbers beyond three are rare; those beyond four are obscure. The first twelve variations of ordinal numbers are given here.

The spatial and chronological ordinal numbers corresponding to cardinals from 13 to 19 are the number followed by the suffix -th, as "sixteenth". For multiples of ten, the same principle applies, with terminal -y changed to -ieth, as "sixtieth". For other numbers, the elements of the cardinal number are used, with the last word replaced by the ordinal: 23 → "twenty-third"; 523 → "five hundred twenty-third" (British English: "five hundred and twenty-third"). When speaking the numbers in fractions, the spatial/chronological numbering system is used for denominators larger than 2 (2 as the denominator of a fraction is "half" rather than "second"), with a denominator of 4 sometimes spoken as "quarter" rather than "fourth". This system results in "two thirds" for 2⁄3 and "fifteen thirty-seconds" for 15⁄32. This system is normally used for denominators less than 100 and for many powers of 10. Examples include "six ten-thousandths" for 6⁄10,000 and "three hundredths" for 0.03.

Chinese

In Chinese, ordinal numbers are formed by adding 第 (pinyin: dì, Jyutping: dai6) before the cardinal numbers.

Signed languages

American Sign Language In American Sign Language, the ordinal numbers first through ninth are formed with handshapes similar to those for the corresponding cardinal numbers with the addition of a small twist of the wrist.

See also Distributive number – Word that answers "how many times each?"Pages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets English ordinal numbers – Names of numbers in English Multiplier (linguistics) – Word indicating multiples of an object Ordinal indicator – Character(s) following an ordinal number (used when writing ordinal numbers, such as a super-script) Ordinal number – Generalization of "n-th" to infinite cases (the related, but more formal and abstract, usage in mathematics) Ordinal data, in statistics Ordinal date – Date written as number of days since first day of year Regnal ordinal – Concept in heraldry

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ordinal numeral

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ordinal numeral claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ordinal numeral before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ordinal numeral ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ordinal numeral

In research: Ordinal numeral appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ordinal numeral in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ordinal numeral is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Naming conventions, Numerals, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ordinal numeral outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Ordinal numeral in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ordinal numeral means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ordinal numeral out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ordinal numeral in simple terms?

Why does Ordinal numeral matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ordinal numeral?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ordinal numeral.