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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

number

/ˈnʌmbər/
Quantity of countable things.

    Etymology graph

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    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    Inherited from Middle English number, nombre, numbre, noumbre, from Anglo-Norman noumbre, Old French nombre, from Latin numerus (“number”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nem- (“to distribute, to give, to take”). Compare Saterland Frisian Nummer, Nuumer, West Frisian nûmer, Dutch nummer (“number”), German Nummer (“number”), Danish nummer (“number”), Swedish nummer (“number”), Icelandic númer (“number”). Displaced Middle English ȝetæl and rime; more at tell, tale and rhyme. Distantly related (via Proto-Indo-European) to obsolete English nim (“to take, seize”) and its Germanic cognates (e.g. German nehmen), hence also to numb.

    Etymology 3

    Equivalent to numb (verb) + -er

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishnombre
      • borrowedAnglo-Normannonbre
        • inheritedLatinnumerus “number”
    • borrowedGermann-
    • rootProto-Indo-European*nem- “to take”
    • surface analysisEnglishnumb “Physically unable to feel, not having the power of sensation.”
    • suffixEnglish-er “A person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun.”
      • inheritedMiddle English-ere
        • inheritedOld English-ere
        • inheritedOld English-ra
      • inheritedMiddle English-er
        • inheritedOld English-or
        • inheritedOld English-er
      • derivedEnglishthe “...because it has already been mentioned, is to be completely specified in the same sentence, or ve…”
        • derivedEnglish7th
        • derivedEnglishSweden “A country in Scandinavia in Northern Europe. Official name: Kingdom of Sweden. Capital: Stockholm.”
        • derivedEnglishJohn “A male given name originating from the Bible [in turn from Hebrew]; very popular since the Middle A…”
        • derivedEnglishEisen “A surname from German.”
        • derivedEnglishMilonakis—himself
        • derivedEnglishmull “To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.”
        • derivedEnglishNîmes “A city, the capital of Gard department, Occitania, southern France, formerly in the region of Langu…”
        • derivedEnglishon “In the state of being active, functioning or operating.”
        • derivedEnglishpassio “suffering”
        • derivedEnglishmarine “Belonging to or characteristic of the sea; existing or found in the sea; formed or produced by the …”
        • derivedEnglishninny “A silly or foolish person.”
        • derivedEnglishlack “A deficiency or need (of something desirable or necessary); an absence, want, dearth.”
        • derivedEnglishtalking “The action of the verb talk.”
        • derivedEnglisha “The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script.”
        • derivedEnglishPlacerville “A city, the county seat of El Dorado County, California, United States.”
        • derivedEnglishinside “The interior or inner part.”
        • derived (possibly)Englishwhich “What, of those mentioned or implied.”
        • derivedEnglishacetylierte
        • derivedEnglishBlau “A surname from German.”
        • derivedEnglishan “Used before a vowel sound.”
        • derivedEnglishFahr “A surname from German.”
        • derived (possibly)EnglishMatthew “A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.”
        • derivedEnglishBMC
        • derivedLatin-plus “-ple”
        • derivedEnglishming “To mix, blend, mingle.”
        • derivedEnglishRuaghagain
        • derivedEnglishhome “One’s own dwelling place; the house or structure in which one lives; especially the house in which …”
        • derivedEnglishkind “A type, race or category; a group of entities that have common characteristics such that they may b…”
        • derivedEnglishits “Belonging to it.”
        • derivedEnglishfirst “Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest.”
        • derivedEnglish1940
        • derivedProto-Germanic*landą “land”
        • derivedEnglishKohl “A surname from German.”
        • derivedEnglishMöhn
        • derivedEnglishÓ “descendant”
        • derivedEnglishsmelting “The process of melting or fusion, especially to extract a metal from its ore.”
        • borrowedEnglishJapanese “Of, relating to, derived from, or characteristic of Japan, its people, language, or culture.”
        • derivedEnglishDurst “A surname.”
        • partEnglish新 “new”
        • derivedEnglishcarrying “Transportation.”
        • derivedEnglishgunfire “Shots from a gun or guns, typically creating loud report.”
        • derivedEnglishseemingly “As it appears; apparently.”
        • derivedEnglishBusch “A surname.”
        • derivedEnglishboth “Each of the two; one and the other; referring to two individuals or items.”
        • derivedEnglishNeapolitan “Of, from or relating to the city of Naples, capital and largest city of Campania, Italy, or the sur…”
        • derivedEnglishNARG “not a real gentleman”
        • derivedEnglishThe
        • derivedEnglish1993
        • derivedEnglishsyllaba “syllable”
        • derivedEnglishδαμάω “to tame”
        • derivedEnglishtits “Used to express dismay or annoyance.”
        • derivedEnglishthis “The (thing) here (used in indicating something or someone nearby).”
        • derivedEnglishany “To even the slightest extent; at all.”
        • derivedEnglishking “A male monarch; a man who heads a monarchy; in an absolute monarchy, the supreme ruler of his natio…”
        • derivedEnglishpissed “Drunk.”
        • partEnglishin- “in, into, towards, within.”
        • derivedEnglishTerra “The Roman earth goddess, equivalent in the interpretatio graeca to Gaea.”
        • derivedEnglishstaged “Of an event, intentionally performed while being falsely contrived to appear authentic or coinciden…”
        • partEnglishwīg “war”
        • derivedEnglishScandinavian “Someone from Scandinavia.”
        • derivedEnglishHermann “A surname from German borrowed from German Hermann.”
        • derivedEnglish-splain “A suffix combined with a descriptive adjective or noun to create a verb meaning someone who fits th…”
        • derivedGermanPyridin “pyridine”
        • derived (possibly)Englishpound “A unit of weight in various measurement systems.”
        • derivedEnglishfalling
        • derivedEnglishone “The number represented by the Arabic numeral 1; the numerical value equal to that cardinal number.”
        • derivedEnglishHeu “hay”
        • derivedEnglishthere “In or at a place or location (stated, implied or otherwise indicated) that is perceived to be away …”
        • derivedEnglishCraig's
        • derived (possibly)Englishde- “reversal, undoing”
        • derivedEnglishhouseholds
        • derivedLatindolor “pain”
        • derivedEnglishLugau
        • derivedEnglishairports
        • derivedEnglishportable “Able to be carried or easily moved.”
        • derivedEnglishlux “In the International System of Units, the derived unit of illuminance or illumination; one lumen pe…”
        • derivedEnglishabove “Physically over; on top of; worn on top of, said of clothing.”
        • derivedEnglishbenzyl-methyl
        • partEnglishvitamin “Any of a specific group of organic compounds essential in small quantities for healthy human growth…”
        • derivedLatinaēneus “made of copper or bronze”
        • derivedEnglishἕρπω “I creep”
        • derivedEnglishother “See other (determiner) below.”
        • partEnglishsnow “The partly frozen, crystalline state of water that falls from the atmosphere as precipitation in fl…”
        • derivedEnglishcut “To perform an incision on, for example with a knife.”
        • derivedEnglishQueen “A title used before the personal name of a queen.”
        • derived (possibly)EnglishLeid
        • derived (possibly)Englishhamr
        • derivedEnglishever “Always, frequently, forever.”
        • derivedEnglishDante's
        • derivedEnglishtasting “A small amount of food or drink.”
        • derivedEnglishsċeaft “shaft”
        • derivedEnglishdry “Free from or lacking moisture.”
        • derivedEnglishSchleswig-Holstein “One of the component states of Germany according to the current administrative division of the nati…”
        • derivedEnglishwas “Used in phrases with existential there when the semantic subject is (usually third-person) plural.”
        • derivedEnglishYpres “A city in West Flanders, Belgium.”
        • derivedEnglishproduction “The act of producing, making or creating something.”
        • derivedEnglishthunderbird “A mythological bird, often associated with stormy weather, especially in various indigenous North A…”
        • derivedMalaysinga
        • derivedEnglish1945
        • derivedEnglishπεριστερά “pigeon”
        • derivedEnglishGreece “A country in Southeastern Europe. Official name: Hellenic Republic. Capital and largest city: Athen…”
        • derivedEnglishColumn
      • inheritedMiddle English-eren
      • inheritedMiddle English-re
      • borrowedMandarin兒

    Related: English nim, Saterland Frisian Nummer, West Frisian nûmer, Dutch nummer, German Nummer, Danish nummer, Swedish nummer, Icelandic númer, German nehmen

    Words built on it: play number two

    Meanings

    noun
    1. Quantity of countable things.
    2. An abstract entity used to describe quantity.
    3. A numeral: a symbol for a non-negative integer.
    4. An element of one of several sets: natural numbers, integers, rational numbers, real numbers, complex numbers, and sometimes extensions such as hypercomplex numbers, etc.
    5. Indicating the position of something in a list or sequence. Abbreviations: No or No., no or no. (in each case, sometimes written with a superscript "o", like Nº or №). The symbol "#" is also used in this manner.
    6. A sequence of digits and letters used to register people, automobiles, and various other items.
    verb
    1. To total or count; to amount to.
    2. To limit to a certain number; to reckon (as by fate) to be few in number.
    3. To count; to determine the quantity of.
    4. To label (items) with numbers; to assign numbers to (items).
    5. To call out and assign a series of numbers (usually to people), either for the sake of dividing into groups or for counting.
    6. To enumerate or list, especially while assigning numbers to.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: number