nounnounnounadjective

la quinta

fifth

Quinta most commonly means “fifth”, referring to a feminine noun or a position in a sequence.

It can also be a feminine noun with several meanings:

Fifth year or class at school.
Fifth gear in a vehicle.
Wing or flat in a theater: a piece of scenery at the side of the stage. In the plural, it can refer to the backstage area.
Fifth in music: an interval spanning five note names.

As an adjective, quinta is the feminine singular form of quinto , “fifth.” Its feminine plural is quinte .

The noun is la quinta, plural le quinte. In some uses, it is short for a longer expression, such as quinta marcia , “fifth gear.”

The word ultimately comes from Latin quintus, meaning “fifth.”

There is no general synonym that covers all meanings of quinta.

For the school meaning, quinto anno means “fifth year”; it specifies the year rather than the class.

As an ordinal, quinta contrasts with quarta , “fourth,” and sesta , “sixth.” These are neighboring positions rather than strict antonyms.

quinta elementare — the fifth year of primary school.
in quinta — in fifth gear, or in the fifth year or class, depending on context.
dietro le quinte — behind the scenes, literally or figuratively.
intervallo di quinta — a musical interval of a fifth.

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La quinta sedia è vuota.adjective

The fifth chair is empty.

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