Etymograph

English

numerosity

Numerosity comes from Latin numerositas ‘rhythm, harmony’, from numerōsus ‘numerous, abundant’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nem-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nomezos1reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerus1‘number’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerōsus1‘numerous, abundant’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerositas2‘rhythm, harmony’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2013numerosity2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin numerositas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English numerosity
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, William Kessen, Andrew Ortony: “We suggest that for small numerosities, the preverbal counter…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-Wiktionary, Latin numerositasreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nomezosWiktionary, Latin numerositasreconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerusWiktionary, Latin numerositas‘number’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerōsusWiktionary, Latin numerositas‘numerous, abundant’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerositasWiktionary, English numerosity‘rhythm, harmony’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2013numerosityWiktionary, English numerosity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2013, William Kessen, Andrew Ortony: “We suggest that for small numerosities, the preverbal counter…”

Formed from numerous + -ity

Proto-Indo-European *nem- ‘to distribute’

Proto-Italic *nomezos

Latin numerus ‘number’

Latin numerōsus ‘numerous, abundant’

Middle English numerous

English numerous

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *nem-

nomadic, numb, nomad, nim, nome, naam, luma, enumeration, numismatics, enumerate, 28 more

through Latin numerus ‘number’

number, innumerable, numerator, 12 more

Today it means

noun The condition of being numerous.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “numerosity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin numerositas. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *nem- / numerosity

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