Etymologically
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nonaginta

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [noː.naːˈɡɪn.taː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [no.naˈd͡ʒin.ta][1]

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

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