nomisma

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek νόμισμα (nómisma).

Per Oxford Dictionary, the Online Etymology Dictionary, and Merriam Webster, money or currency, from Ancient Greek νόμισμα (nómisma), for current money, coin, usage, lit. "what has been sanctioned by custom or use," from νομίζω (nomízō, “to use customarily”), itself from νόμος (nómos), usage or custom, omitting -ίζειν) and adding -ισμα.

Related to French numismatique, from Late Latin numisma (“coin”), variant of Latin nomisma, as noted, from Ancient Greek νόμισμα (nómisma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nə(ʊ)ˈmɪzmə/

Noun

nomisma (plural nomismata or nomismas)

1. Money or currency (modern).
2. Coinage, especially with connotation as a means to control a monetary system (rare).
3. Current coin of a state (ancient).
4. (rare) Coinage, a monetary system.
5. (historical) A byzant.
   • 2022, Vladimir Penchev, “What the coins from the Preslav treasure can tell us about the social status of its owner”, in Contributions to Bulgarian Archaeology, volume XII, →DOI, →ISSN, page 70:

     The silver miliarensia from that era were minted exclusively for propaganda purposes, and in smaller amounts than the gold coins (nomismas) and the copper alloy coins (folles). They were practically not used in circulation, although in theory twelve miliarensia were equal in value to a gold nomisma.

6. A stamp, an image on a coin.

Usage notes

• Per Oxford Dictionary, earliest use by William Camden, so early 17th century.
• 1997, John Julius Norwich, A Short History of Byzantium, Penguin, published 1998, page 262:

  For a quarter-century after, this decline continued, to the point where six different nomismata, of as many metals, were in circulation.

• Prud. στεφ. 2, 95 Archimedes Project, Harvard University

  en Caesar agnoscit suum Nomisma nummis inditum

Related terms

See numismatics (via numisma), and other derived and related terms there.

See also

• pecunia

Latin

Alternative forms

• numisma
• nummisma

Etymology

From Ancient Greek νόμισμα (nómisma, “coin; currency”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /noˈmis.ma/, [nɔˈmɪs̠mä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /noˈmis.ma/, [noˈmizmä]

Noun

nomisma n (genitive nomismatis); third declension

1. coin; coinage

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	nomisma	nomismata
genitive	nomismatis	nomismatum
dative	nomismatī	nomismatibus
accusative	nomisma	nomismata
ablative	nomismate	nomismatibus
vocative	nomisma	nomismata

References

• “nomisma”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “nomisma”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• nomisma in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)