Comment by anthk
4 months ago
"digital" in "romance" languages means the modern 'digital' sense but also an adjective meaning "related to the fingers".
4 months ago
"digital" in "romance" languages means the modern 'digital' sense but also an adjective meaning "related to the fingers".
It also means that in English:
> Digital:
> [...]
> 6) of or relating to the fingers or toes. Ex: digital dexterity
English is a "romance" language then.
English it's a hugely romance-influenced Germanic language.
I thoroughly recommend this podcast if you are interested in where the English language comes from: https://historyofenglishpodcast.com
English is a mix and merge of Norman French and Anglo-Saxon.
english is (latin greek french anglic arabic) in a trench coat
6 replies →
That's where the modern meaning of "digital circuit" etc comes from as well, the discrete/jointed nature of the digits (ie fingers). (Source: I read it a long time ago and was fascinated so stuck in my memory.)
I don't think it's directly connected. etymonline.com says it started with the meaning of fingers, then numerals derived from that meaning since numerals are counted on fingers, then the type of circuit derived from the meaning of numerals since they (at least conceptually) operate on numerals.
Digitus is the Latin word for finger.
Digit is the English word for finger.
Yes, but we're talking about the origin of the word.