Woman blown away after discovering why we abbreviate 1st, 2nd and 3rd like that

They say you learn something new every day, but one woman admitted it probably took her longer than usual to figure out why we abbreviate '1st, 2nd, 3rd' etcetera as we do.

From the date on the calendar to your school grade, the sequence of '1st, 2nd, 3rd...' is something that's ingrained in us from a young age.

There's an abbreviation for every number, and while it doesn't exactly save a lot of time when it comes to writing it out, it does make the number part that bit clearer.

Like the rest of us, mom-of-two Gemma was used to seeing these abbreviations - but she explained on TikTok that she'd never really thought about why the abbreviations ended in the letters they did.

There's no consistency between the first four numbers - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th - but then we get a bit of repetition when we hit '5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th'.

For decades, Gemma had just accepted that these abbreviations were fact - but when she hit 32 years old, she realized there's actually a reason each number has the suffix that it does.

TikTok

In a post on TikTok, she explained: “At my big age of 32 I have just learnt that the “st” in 1st, “nd” in 2nd and “rd” in 3rd are because they are the last letters of the words “first” and so forth.

“I don’t think I ever put any thought into it until now.”

The mom accompanied her video with a series of mind-blown emojis, making clear that this was a really big revelation for her.

However, she isn't the only person who was in the dark about the abbreviations.

Gemma's clip quickly racked up millions of views after being shared on TikTok, and viewers commented to share in her shock.

TikTok

"I only just found this out by watching this. I’m 29," one person commented.

Another wrote: “I’m 64 and I only just realised that from this TikTok! You got to love TikTok."

In case you too were in the dark about the abbreviations, Gemma is right in her explanation.

The first four numbers all change their suffix because they end in different letters - first, second, third, fourth.

It's the last two letters of the word that are used to complete the abbreviation, which is why the sequence from 5th-10th all end in 'th' - because the numbers do too.

It's a pretty simple explanation, but it was obviously enough to bypass Gemma. Better to learn late than never though!

Topics: Education, Viral, TikTok, Social Media

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.