English
denier
Denier comes from French denier ‘denier (coin)’, and goes back to Latin dēnus ‘ten each’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēnus‘ten each’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēnārius
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400denier
- Frenchc. 1600–presentdenier‘denier (coin)’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002denier
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēnus‘ten each’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēnārius
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400denier
- Frenchc. 1600–presentdenier‘denier (coin)’
- Englishearliest quotation 2002denier
Earliest quotation: 2002, Jill Mansell: “Upstairs she rummaged through her chest of drawers, finally…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *déḱm̥ ‘ten’
century, hundred, ten, dick, cent, decade, sen, hectare, decimal, tenfold, deca, doyen, 51 more
through Proto-Italic *dekəm ‘ten’
through Latin dēnus ‘ten each’
through Latin dēnārius
through Old French denier
Today it means
noun An old French coin worth one-twelfth of a sou.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin dēnus / denier