English
numeral
Numeral comes from Latin numerālis ‘pertaining to a number’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *nem- ‘to assign, allot’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-‘to assign, allot’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nomezosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerus‘a number’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerālis‘pertaining to a number’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500numeral
- Englishearliest quotation 1689same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-‘to assign, allot’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nomezosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerus‘a number’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerālis‘pertaining to a number’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500numeral
- Englishearliest quotation 1689same form
Earliest quotation: 1689, An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […]: “A long train of numeral progressions.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *nem- ‘to assign, allot’
nomadic, nomad, numb, nim, nome, naam, luma, enumeration, numismatics, enumerate, 30 more
through Latin numerus ‘a number’
Today it means
noun A symbol that is not a word and represents a number, such as the Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3 or the Roman numerals I, V, X, L.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *nem- / numeral