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numir

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Etymology and origin of the Aromanian word numir

numir1 number

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1813 Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu
Inherited from
Latin numerus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *nem-e/os-
Etymology tree of numir1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin numerus
Aromanian numir
French nombre
Italian numero
French numéro
German Nummer
From the same root · numir1
English numerical ← numerus
Latin innumerus ← numerus
Latin numerosus ← numerus
Latin saepenumero ← numerus
French nombreux ← nombre

Forms

numir n (plural numiri or numire)[1]

  • Other spellings: NÚMIR, plural númire, in Papahagi's dictionary;[2] NUMIR, plural numire, in Pascu, from Dalametra, Mihăileanu, Boiagi and P. Papahagi;[3] νούμιρου (númiru), plural -ρ', in Nikolaidis;[4] nimir, plural -ri, in Dalametra.[5]

Etymology

The number is inherited from Latin numerus (“number”).[2][3][4]

The noun is common to the four Eastern Romance languages: Romanian număr, Megleno-Romanian numir and Istro-Romanian lumer, whose form Candrea and Densusianu explain by Croatian influence.[6][7][8] Further west the Latin word gave Italian novero and French nombre.[9] De Vaan traces numerus to Proto-Italic *nomeso- and Proto-Indo-European *nem-e/os- (“apportioning, sacrifice”).[10]

Semantic evolution

The word kept the Latin sense, a number or count of things.[11][2][3]

Timeline

  • 1813 – recorded in Boiagi's grammar, one of the sources Pascu names for the word.[3]
  • 1906 – nimir “number” in Dalametra's dictionary.[5]
  • 1909 – νούμιρου “number” in Nikolaidis's dictionary.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A number; a count of things or people.[11][2][3]

numir2 to count

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
Inherited from
Latin numero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *nem-e/os-
Etymology tree of numir2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin numero
Aromanian numir
From the same root · numir2
Latin adnumero ← numero
Latin denumero ← numero
Latin dinumero ← numero
Latin enumero ← numero
Latin numerator ← numero
Latin numeratus ← numero
Latin renumero ← numero

Forms

numir (participle numiratã)[12]

  • First conjugation: aorist numirai, participle numiraty, in Katsanis and Dinas;[13] númiru, numiráĭ, numirátă, numiráre in Mihăileanu.[14]
  • Other spellings: NÚMIR (with mi for the reflexive) in Papahagi's dictionary, which refers to anúmir;[15] Wiktionary lists numiru, anumir and anumiru as alternative forms.[12]

Etymology

The verb "to count" is inherited from Latin numerō (“to count”),[15][13][12] formed from numerus (“number”).[16]

The verb is common to the four Eastern Romance languages: Romanian număra, Megleno-Romanian numir and Istro-Romanian rumer.[17][7] Further west the Latin verb gave Italian noverare, French nombrer and Catalan nombrar.[9]

The sense "to consider (as)" is filed by DÉRom under nōminō (“to name”),[18] and Candrea and Densusianu and REW record an Aromanian infinitive numirare "to name" from the same verb;[19] Papahagi says he does not know that sense.[19]

Semantic evolution

Besides counting, the verb means to measure: Papahagi quotes s' númiră cít ahundoásă erá amárea "to measure how deep the sea was".[15] Reflexive, it means to count oneself as something, to be considered.[15][18]

Timeline

  • 1901 – númiru “to count” in Mihăileanu's dictionary.[14]
  • 1990 – Katsanis and Dinas list it as a first-conjugation verb from Latin numerare.[13]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To count.[11][15][14][12]
  2. To measure.[15]
  3. (reflexive) To consider oneself, to be considered (as).[15][18]

numir3 shoulder

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1813 Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu
Inherited from
Latin umerus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *h₂om-es-
Etymology tree of numir3
inherited borrowed derived
Latin umerus
Aromanian numir

Forms

numir m (plural numiri)[12]

  • Masculine and neuter in Papahagi's dictionary, plural númiri or númire.[15][2]
  • Other spellings: NUMIR, with numar in Boiagi and P. Papahagi, numire in Nikolaidis, numere, anumir, anumire and umir, in Pascu;[3] νούμιρε (númire) in Nikolaidis;[20] Wiktionary lists anumir, umir, numiru, anumiru and umiru as alternative forms.[12]
  • Regional forms: númirŭ, plural númiri (neuter), and númiρŭ, plural númirĭ (masculine), at a few points of the Aromanian dialect atlas, in d÷-anúmira “on one's back”.[21]

Etymology

The shoulder is inherited from Latin umerus (“shoulder”), also written humerus.[2][3][12] The initial n is explained in several ways: Pascu takes umir as the regular outcome and numir as umir with an n taken from the adverb anumire "on the shoulder", and compares Modern Greek γῶμος (gômos, “shoulder”);[3] Nikolaidis explains it by Greek νῶμος (nômos) beside ὦμος (ômos, “shoulder”);[20] Wiktionary gives a later prefixed n or a form made from the indefinite article un before the noun.[12]

The word is common to the four Eastern Romance languages: Romanian umăr, Megleno-Romanian numir, with the n as in Aromanian, and Istro-Romanian úmer, also rumer.[6][7][22] Further west the Latin word gave Italian omero, Spanish hombro and Portuguese ombro.[9] De Vaan traces umerus to Proto-Italic *omes-o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂om-es- (“shoulder”), the source also of Ancient Greek ὦμος (ômos, “shoulder”).[10]

Semantic evolution

The word kept the Latin sense.[15][12] Papahagi quotes leá-l pri númir "take it on your shoulder" and the phrase "to give the shoulders", that is, to shrug, to hesitate;[15] in the atlas material, d÷-anúmira means "on one's back".[21]

Timeline

  • 1813 – numar “shoulder” in Boiagi's grammar, as cited by Pascu.[3]
  • 1909 – νούμιρε “shoulder” in Nikolaidis's dictionary.[20]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The shoulder.[15][3][12]
  • Romanian număr
  • Romanian număra
  • Romanian umăr

References

  1. ^ Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net), p. 763
  2. ^ a b c d e f Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 915
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 130
  4. ^ a b c Νικολαΐδης, Κωνσταντίνος (1909), Ετυμολογικόν λεξικόν της κουτσοβλαχικής γλώσσης, Αθήνα, p. 355
  5. ^ a b Dalametra, I. (1906), Dicționar macedo-român, București: Academia Română, p. 149
  6. ^ a b Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001)
  7. ^ a b c Capidan, Theodor (1935), Meglenoromânii III: Dicționar meglenoromân, București: Academia Română, p. 209
  8. ^ Candrea, I.-A.; Densusianu, Ov. (1907–1914), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române: elementele latine (A–Putea), București
  9. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b c Cunia, Tiberius (2008), Dictsiunar a limbãljei armãneascã, Editsii Timpurarã (after T. Papahagi, Ș. Mihăileanu and I. Dalametra; online at dixionline.net)
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  13. ^ a b c Κατσάνης, Νικόλαος; Ντίνας, Κωνσταντίνος (1990), Γραμματική της κοινής κουτσοβλαχικής, Θεσσαλονίκη: Αρχείο Κουτσοβλαχικών Μελετών, p. 139
  14. ^ a b c Mihăileanu, Ștefan (1901), Dicționar macedo-român, București, p. 387
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 788
  16. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  17. ^ Pușcariu, Sextil (1905), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der rumänischen Sprache I: Lateinisches Element, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 105
  18. ^ a b c Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  19. ^ a b Papahagi, Tache (1974), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, 2nd augmented ed., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, p. 916
  20. ^ a b c Νικολαΐδης, Κωνσταντίνος (1909), Ετυμολογικόν λεξικόν της κουτσοβλαχικής γλώσσης, Αθήνα, p. 356
  21. ^ a b Saramandu, Nicolae (2023), Glosar aromân, Fonetică și dialectologie XLII: 103–176, p. 152
  22. ^ Kovačec, August (1998), Istrorumunjsko-hrvatski rječnik (s gramatikom i tekstovima), Pula

Related etymologies

  • featã · also from Latin
  • cu · also from Latin
  • cã · also from Latin
  • tu · also from Latin
  • shi · also from Latin
  • di · also from Latin
  • am · also from Latin
  • yin · also from Latin
Cite this entry

“Numir.” Etymologically, 26 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/rup/numir. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·