denominator

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin dēnōminātor,^[2][3][4][5] an agent noun from dēnōminō (“to name”),^[2][3][5] from dē- and nōminō (“to name”), from nōmen (“name”),^[3] from Proto-Indo-European *no-men- (“name”).^[3] The Shorter Oxford also allows French dénominateur as a source;^[6] the OED notes that the French word occurs in the arithmetical sense in 1484.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In arithmetic, the number written below the line in a fraction: the 1989 edition of the OED and Merriam-Webster date it to about 1542,^[7][8] the revised OED to 1552, in Robert Recorde's Ground of Artes.^[2] Etymonline gives the 1540s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The mathematical sense came first; the general sense, one who or that which gives a name to something, is recorded from 1577 and is now rare.^[2][3] Johnson (1755) gave only that general sense, "the giver of a name".^[9] In logic the word was briefly used for an abstract noun naming an attribute (1599).^[2] The phrase common denominator is recorded from 1594,^[8] and was later used figuratively for something shared by the members of a group;^[8][10] lowest common denominator is from 1854,^[8] and came to mean the level of taste or understanding acceptable to the largest number of people.^[8][6]

Timeline

• 1542 – the number below the line in a fraction.^[7][8] The revised OED dates it to 1552.^[2]
• 1577 – one who or that which gives a name (now rare).^[2]
• 1594 – common denominator.^[8]
• 1599 – in logic, an abstract noun naming an attribute (obsolete).^[2]
• 1854 – lowest common denominator.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The number or expression below the line in a fraction, which shows into how many parts the whole is divided and serves as the divisor; compare numerator.^[10][8][2]
2. A trait or feature shared by a group: Love of music was the only denominator the cousins had in common.^[8]
3. An average level of taste or opinion.^[8]
4. (archaic) A person or thing that names or designates something.^[10][8][2]

Related words

• denominate
• denomination
• nominate
• noun
• name
• numerator

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins