dime English · revision 1545

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1377}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /daɪm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|dime|t=tenth part, tithe]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) [[bor|fro|disme]], [[m|fro|dime|t=tenth part]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from [[la|decima|t=tenth part]], short for [[m|la|decima pars]], the feminine of [[m|la|decimus|t=tenth]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Klein 1966) from [[m|la|decem|t=ten]] (see [[ten]]).^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Skeat 1911) The root is [[ine-pro|*dekm-|t=ten]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A tenth part, a tithe paid to the church or to a ruler (about 1377 in the OED; about 1378 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1786 the old word was chosen as the name of the United States coin worth ten cents, a tenth of a dollar.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)^(Weekley 1921) Bartlett (1848) notes that the term was then in common use in the South and West, while in the East and North older names for Spanish coins persisted.^(Bartlett 1848) A ''dime novel'', a cheap sensational novel, is recorded from 1859.^(OED 1989)^(Weekley 1921) The phrase ''a dime a dozen'', almost worthless, dates from 1930.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) In drug slang a ''dime'' is ten dollars' worth of a drug,^(GDoS)^(MW Collegiate) and the verb ''to dime'', to inform on someone, from the cost of a pay-phone call, is from the 1960s.^(Etymonline)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1377 – a tenth part, tithe.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1786 – the US ten-cent coin.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1859 – ''dime novel''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1930 – ''a dime a dozen''.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1960s – verb, to inform on someone.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[coin]] of the United States or Canada worth ten [[cent|alt=cents]], a tenth of a [[dollar]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A small sum of money.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(slang)'' Ten dollars' worth of an illegal drug; a [[dime bag]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A tenth part; a [[tithe]].^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(slang)'' To inform on someone to the authorities.^(Etymonline)^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[five-and-dime]]

+ * [[nickel-and-dime]]

+ * [[dime novel]]

+ * [[dime store]]

+ * [[half dime]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[decimal]]

+ * [[decimate]]

+ * [[tithe]]

+ * [[ten]]

+ * [[December]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}