Etymology

numeral

nu·mer·al
N1U1M3E1R1A1L1

Today it means: A symbol that is not a word and represents a number, such as the Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3 or the Roman numerals I, V, X, L. Full definition →

Middle English numeral ← Latin numerālis ← Middle French numeral
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The story

  1. Middle French · borrowed fromnumeral
  2. Latin · derived fromnumerālis“pertaining to a number”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromnumeral
  4. English todaynumeral

As an adjective, from Middle English numeral, numerall, from Latin numerālis (“pertaining to a number”), from numerus (“a number”). As a noun, via Middle French numeral.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.