desmit (Latvian)
Where does "desmit" come from?
The Latvian word "desmit" traces its origins back to the Proto-Indo-European root "*déḱm̥t," which simply meant "ten." It evolved through Proto-Balto-Slavic into a collective noun, "*desimtis," referring to a "group of ten" before eventually standardizing into the modern Latvian number. This linguistic lineage is shared with related Baltic languages such as Lithuanian and Latgalian, showing the enduring legacy of this ancient counting term.
Full etymology tree
- desmit (Latvian), 'ten (the cipher, the cardinal number ten)'
- inherited desmits (Latvian)
- inherited *desimtis (Proto-Balto-Slavic)
- compound *déśimt (Proto-Balto-Slavic), 'ten'
- inherited *déḱm̥t (Proto-Indo-European)
- affix -(t)i-s (Proto-Balto-Slavic)
- compound *déśimt (Proto-Balto-Slavic), 'ten'
- inherited *desimtis (Proto-Balto-Slavic)
- inherited desmits (Latvian)
Ancestors
- *déśimt (Proto-Balto-Slavic)
- *déḱm̥ (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- desmit (Latgalian)
- dešimt (Lithuanian)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris