Etymologically
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denomination

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 23:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪˌnɒmɪˈneɪʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English denominacioun,[2][3] borrowed from Old French denominacion[4][2][5] and directly borrowed from Latin dēnōminātiō (“a calling by another name, metonymy”),[3][5][6] a noun of action from dēnōminō (“to name”),[4][2] formed from dē- (“completely”) and nōminō (“to name”), from nōmen (“name”).[2][3] In Anglo-Norman denominacion is recorded from 1341–42, meaning the nomination of someone to an office.[7] The word is related to denominate, denominator, nominate and name.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A mentioning or specifying by name: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus.[4][3] The general sense, the action of naming, is from about 1400.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the act of naming the word passed to the name given to a thing or class (before 1475),[4][2] and in arithmetic to a class of units in a system of numbers, weights or money (about 1430).[4] The monetary sense, a value or unit of money, is recorded from the 1650s or 1660,[2][3] and a class or kind of things or people distinguished by a name from 1664.[4] Of persons, a group called by the same name dates from 1692 or the 1660s,[4][2] out of which grew the now usual sense, a religious body with its own faith and organization, from before 1716.[2][3] Johnson (1755) knew only "a name given to a thing".[8]

Timeline

  • before 1398 – a mentioning by name (obsolete by 1589).[4][3]
  • c. 1400 – the action of naming.[4]
  • c. 1430 – in arithmetic, a class of units of number, measure or money.[4]
  • before 1475 – a name or designation of a thing or class.[4]
  • 1660 – a value or kind of money.[3]
  • 1664 – a class or kind distinguished by a name.[4]
  • 1692 – a group of individuals called by the same name.[4]
  • before 1716 – a religious sect or body.[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A religious group with its own beliefs and organization, within a wider faith: The village had chapels of three denominations.[9][10][11]
  2. One of a series of values or sizes, especially of currency, stamps or weights: notes of small denomination.[9][10][11]
  3. A name or designation, especially one for a class of things.[9][11][4]
  4. The act of naming.[9][11][4]

Word family

  • denominational
  • denominationally
  • denominationalism

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  11. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster