nonaginta

Forms

nōnāgintā (indeclinable)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *nounāgəmtā,^[1] from Proto-Indo-European *h₁neun-dḱmt- (“nine tens”), probably through an older form ⟨*nūnāgintā⟩.^[2][1] Like the other tens in ⟨-gintā⟩, it was first a compound of the lower numeral, here novem (“nine”), with the neuter plural of a noun Proto-Indo-European *dḱmt- (“decad”).^[2] De Vaan explains its long ⟨ō⟩ in two ways: the word was either based on a form ⟨*nōngintā⟩ or remade after the ordinal nōnus (“ninth”).^[2] Its ending ⟨-āgintā⟩ was taken over from trīgintā (“thirty”) and quadrāgintā (“forty”), as in the other higher tens.^[2] Cognate with Ancient Greek ἐνενήκοντα (enenḗkonta, “ninety”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan records it first in Varro;^[2] Köbler's earliest source is Cicero.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It is an indeclinable numeral throughout.^[4][5][6] Cicero says of Masinissa that he is nōnāgintā nātus annōs, “ninety years old”, and Tacitus and Ausonius use it too.^[6][5] In British Medieval Latin it also forms compound numerals, as in Bede's nōnāgintā novem ovibus, the ninety-nine sheep left behind by the shepherd.^[7] Conte compares Italian novanta.^[6]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro has the earliest attestation.^[2][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero writes nōnāgintā nātus annōs of Masinissa.^[6][5][3]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it in the Annals.^[6][3]
• c. 310–394 AD – Ausonius uses it in a letter.^[5][3]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm writes of a book on ninety heresies.^[7][3]

Meanings

Numeral

1. Ninety.^[4][5][8]

Word family

• nōnāgēnī
• nōnāgēsimus
• nonagessis
• nōnāgiēns

Related words

• novem
• nōnus
• octōgintā
• English ninety

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn