Fifth has 9 different meanings across 3 categories:
Noun · Adjective · Proper Noun
a quantity of liquor equal to one fifth of a United States gallon
"My grandfather kept an old bottle of bourbon in his study that he claimed was still good, even though it had been sitting there for thirty years as a full fifth."
one part in five equal parts
"She divided the cake into fifths so everyone could have an equal slice."
the musical interval between one note and another five notes away from it
"The guitarist adjusted his tuning peg until the strings formed a perfect fifth, creating that rich, harmonious sound he was aiming for."
The person or thing in the fifth position.
"She finished as the fifth runner across the finish line."
In plain English: A fifth is a small bottle that holds exactly one-fifth of a gallon, often used for selling alcohol.
"She was born on her fifth birthday."
Usage: Use "fifth" to refer to someone or something occupying the specific position of five in a sequence. It functions as a singular noun when indicating rank, such as in "the fifth runner crossed the finish line."
A music technique.
"The guitarist shifted into a fifth to give the chord a rich, open resonance that filled out the empty stage."
In plain English: To fifth someone means to officially accuse them of a crime and demand that they be tried in court.
"After tasting the soup, he decided to fifth the recipe with a bit more salt."
Usage: The verb fifth means to play a musical interval of a fifth in harmony with another note. Do not confuse this technical term with the noun referring to a container holding five units or the ordinal number.
The ordinal form of the number five.
"She finished her fifth cookie just as the clock struck midnight."
In plain English: Fifth means being the last of five equal parts that make up a whole.
"She received a fifth of the prize money."
Usage: Use "fifth" to describe something that comes immediately after four in a specific sequence or order. It functions correctly before a noun, such as in "the fifth chapter," rather than indicating a fraction of a whole unless explicitly defined as one part out of five equal parts.
The Fifth Amendment.
"After being charged, he invoked his fifth to avoid answering questions during the police interview."
The word "fifth" comes from the Old English fīfta, which is derived from the Proto-Germanic root for five combined with an ordinal suffix meaning "-th." It ultimately traces back to a Pre-Indo-European word that also gave rise to similar counting terms in many other Germanic languages.