número

Forms

número m (plural números)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin numerus (“number; rank, category”).^[2][3][1] García de Diego counts the Spanish and Portuguese word among the learned ones; the inherited outcome of the Latin word is Catalan nombre, as in French nombre, Occitan nombre and Italian novero.^[4][5]

Bénaben calls numerus of uncertain origin.^[6] De Vaan traces it to Proto-Italic *nomeso- and to the noun Proto-Indo-European *nem-e/os- (“apportioning”), from the root *nem- (“to assign, allot”), whose e-grade was replaced by the o-grade.^[7][1] Its cognates include Ancient Greek νέμω (némō, “to dispense, distribute”) and νόμος (nómos, “custom, law”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest Spanish record in the CDH is a chapter heading of the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes (1218–c. 1250): „Del numero dela ganançia” “on the amount of the profit”.^[8] DEMel cites the Fuero de Plasencia of 1221.^[9] Corominas's Breve diccionario gives 1433.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 1270s Alfonso X's General estoria still explained the word: „numero & numeros quiere dezir en el nuestro lenguage de castiella tanto como cuento o cuentas” “número and números mean in our Castilian language the same as count or counts”.^[10] His prose uses it for a numeral sign, for a quantity and for the Book of Numbers.^[10] Nebrija gives numero o cuento as Latin numerus.^[11]

In the Americas, escribano del número “notary of the official roll” is recorded in Mexico City in 1543, and sin número “countless” in Santo Domingo in 1546.^[12] Modern senses include an issue of a periodical, an act in a show, a lottery ticket, a private of the Guardia Civil and, colloquially, a scene made to draw attention.^[3] In Colombia número can mean “lover”, and in Uruguay the tails side of a coin.^[13]

Timeline

• 1218–c. 1250 – the Fuero de Zorita de los Canes: Del numero dela ganançia.^[8]
• 1221 – the Fuero de Plasencia, according to DEMel.^[9]
• 1272–1275 – Alfonso X's General estoria glosses it with cuento.^[10]
• 1433 – the date of first record in Corominas.^[2]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija: numero o cuento.^[11]
• 1543 – the first record from the Americas, in Mexico City.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A number: the expression of a quantity in relation to its unit.^[3][1]
2. A sign or group of signs that represents a number, a numeral.^[3]
3. The quantity of people or things of a kind: un gran número de turistas.^[3]
4. Condition, category or class.^[3]
5. An issue of a periodical: el último número de la revista.^[3]
6. An act or turn in a show.^[3][1]
7. A lottery or raffle ticket.^[3]
8. A private, a member without rank, of the Guardia Civil.^[3][1]
9. (colloquial) A scene or extravagant act that draws attention: montar un número.^[3][1]
10. (grammar) The grammatical category of singular and plural.^[3][1]
11. (rare) Metre or rhythm in music, poetry and prose.^[3]

Word family

• numeral
• numerario
• numérico
• numeroso
• numerar
• sinnúmero

Related words

• enumerar
• innúmero
• innumerable
• Latin numerus
• Catalan nombre

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. número
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. número
4. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. art. 4640
5. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. numerus
6. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. número
7. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. numerus
8. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. número
9. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. número
10. ^ a b c Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. número
11. ^ a b Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. número
12. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. número
13. ^ Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer, p. s.v. número