numero Italian · revision 37794

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1294, Brunetto Latini}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈnu.me.ro/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''numero''' ''m'' (plural numeri)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old forms include [[roa-oit|nòmero]] and [[roa-oit|nùmaro]].^(GDLI|11, 658) Tuscan dialects dissimilate it to ''lùmero'' (Florentine ''ilumero'').^(DEI|2610)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|numerus|t=number; rank; measure, rhythm]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) The inherited Italian form of the Latin noun is [[novero]].^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)^(Devoto 1968)

+

+ The Latin word was inherited as [[ro|număr]], [[fr|nombre]], [[pro|nombre]] and [[ca|nombre]], while [[es|número]] and [[pt|número]] are learned like the Italian.^(REW 1935)^(Nocentini 2010) The grammatical sense of the Latin noun imitates [[grc|ἀριθμός|tr=arithmós]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ DELI, DEI and GDLI call the origin of the Latin word uncertain.^(DELI 1999)^(DEI|2610)^(GDLI|11, 658) De Vaan and Wiktionary derive it from [[itc-pro|*nomezos]], with rhotacism, from the root [[ine-pro|*nem-|t=to allot, take]] of [[grc|νέμω|tr=némō|t=to distribute]] and [[m|grc|νόμος|tr=nómos|t=custom, law]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(Nocentini 2010) De Vaan thinks it is probably a thematized form of the neuter s-stem seen in [[m|la|nemus]], with the o-grade of a noun meaning “rank, number” in place of the e-grade.^(de Vaan 2008) Nocentini explains the ⟨u⟩ as an older ⟨o⟩ changed under the influence of the following labial.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294, for the mathematical entity that states a quantity.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) The Italian version of his ''Tesoro'' says that things must be made “a numero e a misura” (by number and measure).^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Dante uses the word for an indefinite quantity in the ''Convivio'' (1304–1308).^(DELI 1999) The grammatical category of singular and plural is in Leon Battista Alberti about 1454, a person or thing marked by a number in Giovanni Della Casa before 1556, and the plural in the sense “qualities, requirements” in Annibal Caro before 1566.^(DELI 1999) In the 16th century the word also named the rhythm of a period in prose, and the adjective ''numeroso'' meant “harmonious” in 1525.^(DEI|2610)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The publishing and stage senses are modern: “copy” before 1714 in Bernardino Ramazzini, an issue of a periodical in Ugo Foscolo (1810), and an act in a variety show in Panzini's dictionary of 1905.^(DELI 1999) DELI discusses whether the Latin phrase ''numerus clausus'' reached the West from Russia, where it referred to the restrictions imposed on Jews at the end of the 19th century; it is recorded in French from 1908 and in English from 1925.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Italian lent the word to French as ''numéro'': a number marking goods in 1589, the size of a class of goods in 1723, an issue of a periodical in 1790 and an act in a show in 1879.^(DIFIT) German ''Nummer'' is recorded from 1531, at first in trade, with the abbreviation ''No.''.^(DIFIT) Through Ottoman Turkish it also became Turkish ''numara''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Before 1294 – Brunetto Latini uses ''numero''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1304–1308 – Dante uses it for an indefinite quantity.^(DELI 1999)

+ * About 1454 – Leon Battista Alberti uses it for grammatical number.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1531 – German ''Nummer'' is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1589 – French ''numéro'' is first recorded.^(DIFIT)

+ * 1810 – Ugo Foscolo uses ''numero'' for an issue of a periodical.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1905 – Panzini records it for an act in a variety show.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(mathematics)'' [[m|en|number]], the abstract entity that states how many elements a set has or the place of an element in a series; also the word or [[m|en|figure]] that expresses it: ''Sette è un numero dispari.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # The number that identifies an item in a series, such as a page, a house or a telephone line: ''Mi lasci il suo numero di telefono?''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A numbered ticket or token, for instance to keep one's place in a queue.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # A quantity of people or things: ''Un gran numero di turisti ha visitato la mostra.''^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # An [[m|en|issue]] of a newspaper or magazine.^(DELI 1999)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # An act in a show or a variety programme; a short scene or sketch.^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Grammatical number, singular or plural.^(DELI 1999)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(plural)'' The qualities needed for success: ''Quella ragazza ha i numeri per fare carriera.''^(DELI 1999)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A funny or eccentric person or situation: ''Tuo zio è proprio un numero!''^(DIFIT)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[numerare]]

+ * [[numerale]]

+ * [[numerico]]

+ * [[numeroso]]

+ * [[numerazione]]

+ * [[numeratore]]

+ * [[numerabile]]

+ * [[innumerevole]]

+ * [[enumerare]]

+ * [[soprannumero]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[novero]]

+ * [[la|numerus]]

+ * [[fr|numéro]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The word is abbreviated ''n.'', ''No.'' or ''n.ro''.^(GRADIT 2003) Wiktionary also gives a pronunciation with a double /m/, /ˈnum.meˌro/, and the spelling ''nummero''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}