Etymologically
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Nummer

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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