PERMANENT SOURCE RECORD
ALL SOURCES ↗BIBLIOGRAPHIC IDENTITYmw-decimal
SOURCE
RECORD.
One work. Every claim that depends on it. No citation without a consequence you can inspect.
12 PUBLIC LINKS INTO THE GRAPH.
This count excludes duplicate dossier-path citations. Open the claims below to see exactly how the source is used.
historical dictionarymw-decimal
Decimal — Word History
- AUTHOR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
- YEAR
- 2026
- PUBLISHER
- Merriam-Webster
- DOI
- Not recorded
- SOURCE TYPE
- historical dictionary
- EXTERNAL RECORD
- OPEN ORIGINAL ↗
011
CONTRARIAN TRUTH CLAIMS
RANKED REVEALS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
RANK 93GRADE Asupports
Decimal is named for tenths, not the point.
The word runs through the tenth-part family to Latin decem “ten.” The decimal point is a notation used by decimals, not the ancestor that named them.
*dekm̥
*dekm̥ → decem → decima → decimālis → décimal → decimal
EtymologyTraces decimal through decima and decem rather than the punctuation mark.
decimal dossier ↗truth record ↗86UNVEILING
022
SCHOLARLY DISAGREEMENT
DISPUTE POSITIONS THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
resolvedsupportsestablished
Is decimal named after the decimal point?
No. The adjective and noun come from the Latin tenth/ten family; the visible point is part of later notation, not the word’s ancestor.
EtymologyTraces decimal through decima and decem rather than the punctuation mark.
resolvedsupportsestablished
Did the decimal noun and adjective enter together?
Merriam-Webster reports the adjective in 1608 and the noun in 1623. These are lexicographic first-use reports, not inspected objects.
Etymology; First Known UseSupplies separate chronology for the adjective and noun.
034
CANONICAL RELATIONSHIP CLAIMS
EDGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
EDGE 174supportsestablished
decimal → décimal
Present-Day English → French · borrowing
- SOUND
- French décimal is adapted into English as decimal.
- MEANING
- The “of tenths/base ten” meaning remains transparent.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
Etymology; First Known UseReports French borrowing and the 1608 adjective / 1623 noun chronology.
EDGE 175supportsestablished
décimal → decimālis
French → Medieval Latin · borrowing
- SOUND
- Medieval Latin decimālis passes into French décimal with Romance sound development.
- MEANING
- The learned mathematical and proportional sense remains tied to tenths.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
EtymologyConnects French décimal with Medieval Latin decimālis.
EDGE 176supportsestablished
decimālis → decima
Medieval Latin → Latin · derivation
- SOUND
- Medieval Latin decimālis is formed from Latin decima with an adjectival suffix.
- MEANING
- A tenth part or tithe becomes “pertaining to tenths.”
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
EtymologyConnects decimālis with Latin decima.
EDGE 177supportsestablished
decima → decem
Latin → Latin · derivation
- SOUND
- Latin decima is a substantivized feminine form in the decimus/decem family.
- MEANING
- The cardinal “ten” supplies a named tenth part or tithe.
- SCHOLAR / EDITOR
- Merriam-Webster Editors
Kids EtymologyConnects the tenth-part family with decem “ten.”
041
LEXICAL ATTESTATIONS
WITNESSES REPORTED BY THIS SOURCE
decimalSOURCE-REPORTED
decimal
English lexicographic first-use record for decimal as an adjective
OPEN WITNESS 43 ↗051
COMPARATIVE EVIDENCE
COGNATES, DESCENDANTS, AND RELATIVES
dime
EnglishLatin tenth-family cousin
063
GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL CLAIMS
JOURNEY STAGES THAT CITE THIS SOURCE
stage 2supports
Latin-speaking and medieval European scholarly worlds
Traces French décimal from Medieval Latin decimalis “of a tithe,” from Latin decima “tithe.”
Word History: Etymology · broadstage 3supports
French source and English mathematical use
Documents the French source and reports 1608 for the adjective’s first known English use.
Word History: Etymology and adjective First Known Use · broadstage 4supports
Base-ten mathematical usage
Defines the base-ten adjective and noun and reports separate first-known-use years of 1608 and 1623.
Definitions; First Known Use for adjective and noun · broad070
NON-GENEALOGICAL CONNECTIONS
HISTORICAL CONTEXT, KEPT SEPARATE
No non-genealogical context link currently cites this source.
081
WORD-FAMILY REUSE
DOSSIERS THAT DEPEND ON THIS SOURCE
4 entry-scoped citations map reviewed dossier paths onto the canonical claims above.