Afrikaans

Numeral

veertig

1. (cardinal) forty

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfeːr.təx/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch viertich, viertech, veertech, from Old Dutch *viurtig, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr tigiwiz.

Numeral

veertig

1. forty

Usage notes

Although spelt with v-, the word is traditionally pronounced with initial /f/ even in accents that generally do not devoice v-. (This is due to analogy with zeventig ["seventy"], which used to have a prefix t- and hence a devoiced z-.) However, there are also many speakers who pronounce /v/ in line with the spelling.