nineteen
nineteen
Pronunciation
/ˌnaɪnˈtiːn/
First Syllable: /naɪn/
/n/: Voiced alveolar nasal
/aɪ/: Diphthong, as in "my"
/n/: Voiced alveolar nasal
Second Syllable: /tiːn/
/t/: Voiceless alveolar plosive
/iː/: Long high front unrounded vowel, as in "fleece"
/n/: Voiced alveolar nasal
Word Form Variations
"Nineteen" primarily functions as a cardinal number. It does not have singular/plural variations, different verb tenses, or adverbial forms in the way most words do. Its form remains constant.
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: The cardinal number equivalent to the sum of eighteen and one; the numerical value represented by the numeral 19.
Synonyms: N/A (as it's a specific number)
Antonyms: N/A (as it's a specific number)
Definition 2: A group or set consisting of nineteen individual units or members.
Synonyms: N/A (referring to a specific quantity)
Antonyms: N/A (referring to a specific quantity)
Adjective
Definition 1: Amounting to nineteen in number.
Synonyms: N/A (as it's a specific quantity)
Antonyms: N/A (as it's a specific quantity)
Definition 2: Being the ordinal position after eighteenth.
Synonyms: N/A (as it's a specific position)
Antonyms: N/A (as it's a specific position)
Examples of Use
Books: "Chapter Nineteen: The Boy Who Lived" (from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, June 1997).
Newspapers: "The county reported nineteen new cases of the flu this week, bringing the total to over 150." (from The Daily Tribune).
Online Publications: "Nineteen Best Practices for Remote Work Productivity" (from Forbes.com).
Entertainment Mediums (Film): "Apollo 19" (a hypothetical future lunar mission, as referenced in space documentaries).
Entertainment Platforms (Music): "Nineteen" (a song title by artists like Tegan and Sara).
General Public Discourse: "I've been waiting for nineteen minutes for the bus to arrive."
General Public Discourse: "The high school graduated nineteen valedictorians this year."
10 Quotes Using Nineteen
"I saw the years of my life spaced along a road in the form of telephone poles threaded together by wires. I counted one, two, three nineteen telephone poles, and then the wires dangled into space, and try as I would, I couldn't see a single pole beyond the nineteenth." (Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar)
"When I was nineteen, she said, 'I was in love with being in love, I think. And I was given no chance to discover how deep - or not deep - that love would have gone.'" (Mary Balogh, A Secret Affair)
"Everyone, at nineteen, is dumb and beautiful in equal parts." (Raphael Kadushin)
"Nineteen years are as ages to you when you are nineteen. When you are nineteen there is no experience to tell you that all things have an end." (Mary MacLane, I Await the Devil's Coming)
"It seems that I have always been ahead of my time. I had to wait nineteen years before Niagara was harnessed by my system, fifteen years before the basic inventions for wireless which I gave to the world in 1893 were applied universally." (Nikola Tesla)
"Of the twenty-two civilizations that have appeared in history, nineteen of them collapsed when they reached the moral state the United States is in now." (Arnold J. Toynbee)
"When I was nineteen years old, I was the number-one star for two years. When I was forty, nobody wanted me. I couldn't get a job." (Mickey Rooney)
"Why one man rather than another? It was odd. You find yourself involved with a fellow for life just because he was the one that you met when you were nineteen." (Simone de Beauvoir)
"In nineteen minutes, you can mow the front lawn; color your hair; watch a third of a hockey game. In nineteen minutes, you can bake scones or get a tooth filled by a dentist; you can fold laundry for a family of five. In nineteen minutes, you can stop the world; or you can just jump off it." (Jodi Picoult, Nineteen Minutes)
"The nineteen fifties was a time of tumultuous change." (Orson Bean)
Etymology
The word "nineteen" comes from Old English, specifically from words like "nigontene" (Anglian dialect) and "nigontyne" (West Saxon dialect). It's essentially a combination of "nine" and "-teen."
The "-teen" part in numbers like thirteen, fourteen, and so on, comes from an old Germanic word that meant "ten" or "group of ten." So, when you say "nineteen," you're literally saying something like "nine and ten" or "nine plus ten."
The first known use of "nineteen" in English goes way back to the Old English period, which is before the year 1150. At that time, it already had its current meaning of the cardinal number that comes after eighteen and before twenty.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Nineteen
"Nineteen" is not a word commonly found in many fixed phrases or idioms in English. When it does appear, it often refers literally to the number itself or an age. Here's a list, supplementing with less common or constructed phrases where direct idioms are scarce, and including one with a synonym for "nineteen" (like "score" for twenty, but adjusted to fit the spirit of a numerical idiom):
Sweet Nineteen: Often used poetically or nostalgically to refer to the age of nineteen, implying a period of youth and vibrancy.
A Nineteen-Year Itch: (Less common, an adaptation of "seven-year itch") Suggests a recurring period of restlessness or a desire for change after nineteen years in a situation.
The Nineteenth Hole: (Refers to the clubhouse or bar after a round of golf, not directly using "nineteen" as a numerical idiom, but as a specific location related to the number of holes in a standard golf course). This is an established idiom.
Nineteen to the Dozen: (Original construction, mimicking "talk nineteen to the dozen") Could imply something happening at a very fast or overwhelming pace, though "talk nineteen to the dozen" is not a standard idiom itself.
Nineteen Steps to Freedom: (Figurative, could be used to describe a long and arduous process with a specific number of stages).
A Nineteen-Carat Lie: (Original construction, playing on "twenty-four-carat" for pure) Implies a lie that is almost complete or pure, but not entirely so.
Nineteen Times Out of Twenty: (Less common, but understandable) Means almost always, very frequently.
Stuck at Nineteen: (Figurative) Implies a lack of progress or being unable to move past a certain point, often in development or a process.
Nineteen Hundred Hours: (Military/formal timekeeping) Refers to 7:00 PM. While not an idiom, it's a specific, common phrase using the number.
Worth Every Nineteen Pence: (Original, playing on phrases like "worth every penny") Implies something of great value, where nineteen pence is used as a specific, slightly unusual small sum.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of nineteen from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
