Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dime” come from?

Dime comes from Middle English dime, from Anglo-Norman disme, from Latin decimus meaning tenth, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European déḱm̥ meaning ten.

dime (English): A coin worth one-tenth of a U.S. dollar; A coin...

Definitions

  1. A coin worth one-tenth of a U.S. dollar; A coin...

Ancestry of “dime”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishdime—
2Anglo-Normandismeone tenth, tithe; tenth
3Latindecimustenth; the ordinal number after "nonus" and...
4Latindecemten; 10
5Latin-nus-an
6Proto-Italic-nos—
7Proto-Indo-European-nósCreates verbal adjectives from roots

Words derived from “dime”

  • dimed
  • dimeless
  • dimelike
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -nós →