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Nummer

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Etymology and origin of the German word Nummer

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1531, abbreviation No. in merchants' language
Borrowed from
Italian numero
Ultimate origin
Latin (numerus)

Pronunciation

Forms

Nummer f (genitive Nummer, plural Nummern, diminutive Nümmerchen n)[1] The Italian form Numero was taken over first and survives in the abbreviation No. and the sign №; the Germanised Nummer appears in the 18th century, with mm to mark the short vowel.[2][3][4] Regionally the word has had other genders: Bavarian der Nummer, Hessian and Nassau das Nummer.[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian numero (“number”), a word of the merchants' language borrowed in the 16th century, from Latin numerus (“number, figure”).[3][2][5] It became feminine after Zahl.[3][1] Kluge relates the Latin noun ultimately to nehmen, and Wahrig derives it from the root Proto-Indo-European *nem- (“to count, arrange”).[3][6]

The Latin word was also taken over directly as a term of grammar, Numerus (17th century), and the verb nummerieren (mid-16th century) is from numerō (“to count”).[2][5] The same word is Dutch nummer and Swedish nummer, and English number and French numéro are related loans.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record is the abbreviation No. in the merchants' language in 1531; the full form Numero is recorded from the mid-16th century.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

From the number that marks a thing in a series the word came to mean the thing itself: a ticket in a lottery, an issue of a periodical (1792, Laukhard), the size of a shoe or garment (recorded 1905), and short for a telephone or car number.[4][7] Adelung records eine gute Nummer bei jemandem haben “to be well regarded by someone”, which GWDS traces to school marks.[8][9] In the circus and variety theatre a Nummer is an act on the programme (1937), which gave eine große Nummer “an important person” and the colloquial sense “a character”.[7][9] Die Nummer eins, the best of its kind, is recorded from 1787 (Heinse); auf Nummer sicher, originally of a prisoner in a numbered cell, from 1866.[7][9] The slang eine Nummer schieben “to have sex” is recorded in 1952.[7]

The German word passed into Polish numer, Russian номер (nómer) and Danish nummer.[1]

Timeline

  • 1531 – The abbreviation No. is used in the merchants' language.[7]
  • Mid-16th century – Numero and numerieren (1570) are recorded.[2][7]
  • 18th century – The Germanised feminine Nummer appears.[2]
  • 1787 – die Nummer eins is used by Heinse.[7]
  • 1792 – Nummer is used for an issue of a periodical.[7]
  • 1866 – in Numero Sicher “in safe custody” appears in the Grenzboten.[7]
  • 1937 – Nummer is recorded for an act in a circus or variety programme.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A number that identifies something or gives its place in a series, such as a house, room, telephone or shirt number: Ich wohne in Zimmer Nummer zwölf. Gib mir doch deine Nummer.[9][1]
  2. An issue of a newspaper or magazine: Der Artikel erscheint in der nächsten Nummer.[9][1]
  3. The size of shoes or clothes: Haben Sie die Jacke eine Nummer kleiner?[9][1]
  4. (regional) A school mark.[9]
  5. An act in a circus, cabaret or variety programme;[9][1] (colloquial) a piece of popular music: Die Band spielte ihre bekannteste Nummer.[9][1]
  6. (colloquial) A person of a particular kind, a character: Dein Onkel ist eine komische Nummer.[9][1]
  7. (slang) An act of sexual intercourse.[9][1]

Word family

  • nummerieren
  • Numerus
  • Nummernschild
  • Telefonnummer
  • numerisch
  • Numerale
  • English number

Usage notes

Nummer eins is the leading person or product in a field, and Nummer null (colloquial) the toilet.[9] Auf Nummer sicher gehen is to take no risks, and auf Nummer sicher sitzen to be in prison;[9][7] eine Nummer zu groß für jemanden is beyond someone's means or abilities.[9][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  3. ^ a b c d e Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 661
  4. ^ a b c Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 13, 981
  5. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag, p. 589
  6. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  8. ^ Adelung, Johann Christoph (1793–1801), Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, 2nd ed., 4 vols., Leipzig: Breitkopf, p. 3, 537
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Nummer.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/de/Nummer. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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