Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “alphanumeric” come from?

Alphanumeric comes from English numeric combined with English alpha, which derives from Ancient Greek ἄλφα, ultimately from Proto-Semitic ʾalp-.

alphanumeric (English): Consisting of, or limited to, letters and/or...

Definitions

  1. Consisting of, or limited to, letters and/or...

Ancestry of “alphanumeric”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishnumericOf or relating to numbers, especially the...
2Frenchnumériquenumeric; numerical; digital
3French-iqueUsed to form adjectives from nouns: -ic, -ical,...
4Middle French-ique—
5Old French-ique-ic
6Latin-icusbelonging to; derived from; of or pertaining to;...
7Proto-Italic*-ikos—

Words derived from “alphanumeric”

  • nonalphanumeric
Every word from Proto-Italic *-ikos →