English

Noun

nummus ‎(plural nummi)

1. (historical) Any of a range of low-value copper coins issued by the Roman and Byzantine empires during Late Antiquity.

Latin

Alternative forms

• nūmus

Etymology

From νοῦμμος ‎(noûmmos), Doric version of Ancient Greek νόμος ‎(nómos). Confer with numerus, from the same root.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈnum.mus/, [ˈnʊm.mʊs]

Noun

nummus m ‎(genitive nummī); second declension

1. a coin, piece of money

Usage notes

Some works ascribe this name to a particular Roman coin, such as the sesterce, but it is unclear which coin was ever known by this name in Latin.

Inflection

• The expected form for the genitive plural nummōrum is often written nummum instead in Classical Latin.

Second declension.

Derived terms

References

• nummus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• nummus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• NUMMUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “nummus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • bad money; base coin: nummi adulterini
    
  • the bank-rate varies: nummus iactatur (Off. 3. 20. 80)
    
  • to have no debts: in suis nummis versari (Verr. 4. 6. 11)
    
• nummus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• nummus in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin