Counting in Proto-Indo-European

Language overview

Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the theorized common ancestor of the Indo-European language family, spoken between 3.500 and 2.500 BC. By linguistic reconstruction, linguists have reconstructed a language for which no direct record exists. The reconstructed numerals presented on this page are taken from the Late Indo-European stage, when the distinction with its parent, the Proto-Indo Hittite (PIE) has been done.

Due to lack of data, we can only count accurately up to 1,000 in Proto-Indo-European. Please contact me if you can help me counting up from that limit.

Proto-Indo-European numbering rules

Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).

• Digits from one to nine are rendered by specific words: oinos/oinā/oinom (m/f/n) [1], dwōu/dwāi/dwoi (m/f/n) [2], trejes/trja or trī/trísores (m/f/n) [3], qétwores [4], penqe [5], seks [6], septḿ [7], oktṓu [8], and newṇ [9]. It seems that weks, six, could have been the ‘original’ PIH (Proto-Indo Hittite) form, to which an s- from septḿ was added; it would have lost the w- later.
• The tens are formed starting with the multiplier unit, directly followed by the suffix -dkṃta (group of ten), with no space, except for twenty: dekṃ [10], dwid kṃtī or wid kṃtī [20], trídkṃta [30], qetwŕdkṃta [40], penqédkṃta [50], swé ksdkṃta or sé ksdkṃta[60], septḿdkṃta [70], oktṓdkṃta [80], and néwṇdkṃta [90].
• Compound numbers from eleven to nineteen are formed starting with the unit, then the word for ten (dekṃ), separated with a space: sémdekṃ or oinos dekṃ [11], dwōu dekṃ [12], trejes dekṃ [13], qétwores dekṃ [14], penqe dekṃ [15], sweks dekṃ [16], septḿ dekṃ [17], oktṓ dekṃ [18], and newṇ dekṃ [19].
• Compound numbers above twenty are formed starting with the unit, then the ten separated with a space (e.g.: qétwores tridkṃta [34], oktṓu penqédkṃta [58]).
• Hundreds are formed starting with the multiplier digit root, directly followed by the plural form of the word for hundred (singular: dkṃtóm or kṃtóm, plural: kṃtos), with no space, except for one hundred: dkṃtóm [100], dwikṃtos [200], trikṃtos [300], qatwṛkṃtos [400], penqekṃtos [500], sekskṃtos [600], septṃkṃtos [700], oktōkṃtos [800], and newṇkṃtos [900].
• Compound hundreds start with the unit, then the ten and the hundred, separated with spaces (e.g.: penqe dekṃ dkṃtóm [115], oinos qetwŕdkṃta septṃkṃtos [741]).
• The word for thousand is sṃgheslom [1,000].

Write a number in full in Proto-Indo-European

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Proto-Indo-European. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.

Books

Source

• A Grammar of Modern Indo-European, by Carlos Quiles and Fernando López-Menchero, 2011

Romance languages

Asturian, Catalan, Corsican, Eonavian, French, Friulian, Galician, Gallo, Italian, Jèrriais, Ladin, Latin, Lombard (Milanese), Occitan, Picard, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Proto-Indo-European, Romanian, Romansh, Sardinian, Spanish, and Venetian.

Other supported languages

As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.