decem (Latin)

Where does "decem" come from?

The Latin word 'decem' traces its roots back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European term *déḱm̥, which simply meant ten. This numerical foundation is shared across many major language families, appearing as 'daśa' in Sanskrit, 'déka' in Greek, and eventually evolving into 'tīen' in Old English. Through these linguistic shifts, the word has maintained its consistent meaning for thousands of years.

Full etymology tree

• decem (Latin), 'ten; 10'
  • inherited *dekem (Proto-Italic)
    • inherited *déḱm̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'ten'
      • contraction *ḱm̥t- (Proto-Indo-European)
      • contraction *deḱ- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to take'

Ancestors

• *dekəm (Proto-Italic)
• *déḱm̥ (Proto-Indo-European)

Cognates and doublets

• δέκα (Ancient Greek)
• 𐍄𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌿𐌽 (Gothic)
• tien (Old English)
• दश (Sanskrit)

Descendants and derived words

• decanus (Latin)
• december (Latin)
• december (Latin)
• decempeda (Latin)
• decemplex (Latin)
• decemvir (Latin)
• decennis (Latin)
• -decim (Latin)
• decima (Latin)
• decima (Latin)
• decima (Latin)
• decimus (Latin)

Updated July 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris