quintile
noun
quin·tile ˈkwin-ˌtī(-ə)l 
: any of the four values that divide the items of a frequency distribution into five classes with each containing one fifth of the total population
also : any one of the five classes
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Breaking Down the Meaning of Quintile
Many people have a deep interest in statistics about themselves, whether the information provided is about income, ice-cream consumption, or trash production. And any such rating can be divided into fifths, or quintiles. The fifth or lowest quintile would include the 20 percent of the population who make the least money or eat the least ice cream or generate the least trash, and the first quintile would include the 20 percent who make, eat, or generate the most.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The middle quintile earned $66,453 and 92% were employed. 
Phil Gramm And John Early, WSJ, 29 Aug. 2022 Before adding the value of education to household balance sheets, 53% of student debt is held by households in the bottom quintile of wealth. Preston Cooper, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2022 And the vast majority of that benefit—84 percent—went to households in the upper quintile, with an average income of $228,000. Kalena Thomhave, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2022 The pricey quintile in Columbus has slowed to 8.3%, while Philadelphia and Chicago have cooled respectively to 7.8% and 4.7%. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 26 June 2022 But that's no longer a dwelling that falls in the city's high-price quintile. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 26 June 2022 Finally, the poorest income quintile of Americans 20 percent of Americans hold just 8 percent of the total share of student debt. Shahar Ziv, Forbes, 3 May 2022 Program incidence was highly regressive, with about three-quarters of PPP funds accruing to the top quintile of households. James Freeman, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2022 The share of dependent students in the lowest income quintile relying on parent PLUS loans rose from 3% in 1996 to 11% in 2016. cleveland, 14 May 2022 See More
Phil Gramm And John Early, WSJ, 29 Aug. 2022 Before adding the value of education to household balance sheets, 53% of student debt is held by households in the bottom quintile of wealth. Preston Cooper, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2022 And the vast majority of that benefit—84 percent—went to households in the upper quintile, with an average income of $228,000. Kalena Thomhave, The New Republic, 23 Aug. 2022 The pricey quintile in Columbus has slowed to 8.3%, while Philadelphia and Chicago have cooled respectively to 7.8% and 4.7%. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 26 June 2022 But that's no longer a dwelling that falls in the city's high-price quintile. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 26 June 2022 Finally, the poorest income quintile of Americans 20 percent of Americans hold just 8 percent of the total share of student debt. Shahar Ziv, Forbes, 3 May 2022 Program incidence was highly regressive, with about three-quarters of PPP funds accruing to the top quintile of households. James Freeman, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2022 The share of dependent students in the lowest income quintile relying on parent PLUS loans rose from 3% in 1996 to 11% in 2016. cleveland, 14 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin quintus + English -ile entry 2
First Known Use
1922, in the meaning defined above