DictionaryRoot: -tig
Old English
-tig
ten or a group of ten
Forms
- -tig
- -ty — The ending shortened and its consonant changed in later English.
Origin
An inherited Germanic number ending related to the word for ten.
Note
It builds the names of tens rather than simply adding ten to another number.
5 / 9
number
ninety
Nine times ten.
Etymology
The ending belongs to the old word family for tens. Combined with nine, it expresses nine groups of ten.