Etymograph

English

numismatics

Numismatics comes from French numismatique ‘currency, coin’, from Ancient Greek νομίζω ‘to use customarily’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nem-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-1root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ném-e-ti2‘to assign, allot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*némō2reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνέμω3‘to distribute’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνόμος4‘custom’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνομίζω5‘to use customarily’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνόμισμα6‘coin’
  8. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEnomisma1as numisma‘coin’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentnumismatique1‘currency, coin’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1934numismatics1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English numismatics
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek νέμω
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek νόμος
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek νομίζω
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek νόμισμα
  6. 6 Wiktionary, Latin nomisma
  7. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “What! Mr. Joolby, the eminent authority on Greek numismatics?…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nem-Wiktionary, English numismaticsroot named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ném-e-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek νέμω‘to assign, allot’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*némōWiktionary, Ancient Greek νέμωreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνέμωWiktionary, Ancient Greek νόμος‘to distribute’
  5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνόμοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek νομίζω‘custom’
  6. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνομίζωWiktionary, Ancient Greek νόμισμα‘to use customarily’
  7. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνόμισμαWiktionary, Latin nomisma‘coin’
  8. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEnomismaWiktionary, English numismaticsas numisma‘coin’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentnumismatiqueWiktionary, English numismatics‘currency, coin’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1934numismaticsWiktionary, English numismatics. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1934, Ernest Bramah: “What! Mr. Joolby, the eminent authority on Greek numismatics?…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *nem-

number, numerous, numb, nomad, nim, innumerable, numeric, numeral, naam, numeracy, numero, enumeration, enumerate, luma, numerator, 25 more

through Ancient Greek νέμω ‘to distribute’

noma, 9 more

through Ancient Greek νόμος ‘custom’

nome, nomos, 8 more

Today it means

noun The study of coins, tokens, medals and paper money.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “numismatics”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek νέμω, Ancient Greek νόμος, Ancient Greek νομίζω, Ancient Greek νόμισμα, Latin nomisma. 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- / numismatics

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