English

numerous

Numerous comes from Middle English numerous, from Latin numerōsus ‘numerous, abundant’, from numerus ‘number’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nem- ‘to distribute’.

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-¹‘to distribute’reconstructed
Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nomezos¹reconstructed
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerus²‘number’
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerōsus²‘numerous, abundant’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500numerous²
Englishearliest quotation 1911numerous²

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

¹ Wiktionary, Latin numerus
² Wiktionary, English numerous
Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: “A numerous band of men and maidens escorts him…”.

Lineage

Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-1Wiktionary, Latin numerus‘to distribute’reconstructed
Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nomezos1Wiktionary, Latin numerusreconstructed
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerus2Wiktionary, English numerous‘number’
Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnumerōsus2Wiktionary, English numerous‘numerous, abundant’
Middle Englishc. 1150–1500numerous2Wiktionary, English numerous
Englishearliest quotation 1911numerous2Wiktionary, English numerous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough: “A numerous band of men and maidens escorts him…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *nem- ‘to assign, allot’

nomadic, nomad, numb, nim, nome, naam, luma, enumeration, numismatics, enumerate, 29 more

through Latin numerus ‘number’

number, innumerable, 13 more

Today it means

det An indefinite large number of.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “numerous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin numerus. 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- / numerous

Shirt and support for this word

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