I found myself struggling to come up with a term while proofing an essay for a friend. He used an inconsistent format for dates. In some places he'd write "April 12" and in others he'd write "April 12th" (with the "th" formatted as a superscript).
So in my editorial comments I found myself in need of a way to refer to that "th" used on some dates. Same with "st" for like "April 1st."
Here's what I ended up writing:
Minor point, but your date format is inconsistent throughout the text. In some places you use “April 12th“and in others you skip the superscripted “th”.
I can't help but think that "the superscripted 'th'" is a bit awkward but could not think of a more elegant or succinct term.
My question: Is there a term for that appended superscript? Maybe "appended superscript" is the best choice? IMO, that superscript performs the same function as an adjective (adjectival superscript?), but I'm not sure. Any feedback appreciated, thanks.
I have always heard numbers with the appendage referred to as ordinal numbers as opposed to cardinal numbers.
The terms 1st, 3rd, 5th, etc. are abbreviations for the words for the ordinal numbers, so there is really no name for those elements used, just as you might say the same of Mr, Mme being for Mister, Madame. What seem meaningful designations of their own right are but fragments from the full word.
Your phrase seems fine, but I might even simplify it as '... you skip the script 'th' ...'
In language-blind terminology these are ordinal (number) indicators or ordinal (number) suffixes.
English: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
French: 1er/1re, 2e, 3e
Russian: 1-?, 2-?, 3-? *see edit below
In English, the practice of using superscripts has fallen away and many style guides indicate the writer should use inline letters rather than superscipts. Microsoft Word, however, will superscript the ordinal indicators by default, so you might want to turn that "feature" off.
[edit]
Well, it looks like the Russian letter won't come out. It is a short-i ( example) in Russian that stands as the ordinal indicator (for masculine singular nominative). The ordinal indicator inflects with the word, and Russians use as many letters as needed to indicate gender, number, and case, usually 1 or 2 letters.
Robert said
just as you might say the same of Mr, Mme being for Mister, Madame. What seem meaningful designations of their own right are but fragments from the full word
Those are called abbreviations for the titles.