nummular

English

WOTD – 11 January 2022

Etymology

A nummular (sense 2) or coin-shaped brooch dating to 900–1100 C.E. unearthed in Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom.
Nummular dermatitis (sense 2.1), a skin inflammation, is characterized by coin-shaped lesions.

From Latin nummulus ((small amount of) money) + English -ar (suffix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of, pertaining to, or near’).[1] Nummulus is the diminutive of nummus (a coin; piece of money) + -ulus (diminutive suffix); while nummus is from Doric Greek νοῦμμος (noûmmos), from Ancient Greek νόμος (nómos, kind of coin), from νέμω (némō, to deal out, dispense, distribute) (from Proto-Indo-European *nem- (to distribute; to give; to take)) + -ος (-os, suffix forming nouns).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnʌmjʊlə/
  • (file)
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnʌmjʊlɚ/
  • Hyphenation: num‧mul‧ar

Adjective

nummular (comparative more nummular, superlative most nummular)

  1. (obsolete, rare) Of or relating to coins or money.
    Synonyms: monetary, numismatic, nummary, nummulary
  2. (by extension) Flattened with a rounded form, as a disc; coin-shaped.
    Synonym: coinlike
    1. (pathology) Characterized by lesions (especially on the cornea or skin) which are round with well-defined borders.
    2. (pathology, obsolete) Of sputum: forming flat, round shapes (formerly thought to be a symptom of tuberculosis).
      Synonyms: (obsolete, rare) nummulary, (obsolete) nummulated
      • [1839, Robley Dunglison, “NUMMULAR”, in Medical Lexicon. A New Dictionary of Medical Science, [], 2nd edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lea and Blanchard, successors to Carey and Co., →OCLC, page 421, column 2:
        NUMMULAR [] An epithet applied to the sputa in phthisis, when they flatten at the bottom of the vessel, like a piece of money.]

Translations

References

  1. nummular, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2021; nummular, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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