Denominator

How to spell denominator

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce denominator

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does denominator mean?

1. nounThe number written below the line in a fraction, showing how many equal parts the whole is divided into.
2. nounA shared feature or standard common to a group of people or things, usually in the phrase 'common denominator'.

Denominator in a sentence

• To add two fractions, you first make the denominator the same in both.

• The manager looked for the common denominator behind every customer complaint.

• In the fraction three over four, the denominator is four.

• Cheap thrills and loud music seemed to be the lowest common denominator of the whole festival.

Where does denominator come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word reaches back to the Latin verb denominare, which meant 'to name' or 'to call by a name', built from the prefix de- (here adding a sense of completeness) and nomen, the ordinary Latin word for 'a name'. The same nomen sits inside familiar relatives such as 'nominate', 'nominal' and 'noun', all of which circle around the idea of naming. Medieval mathematicians writing in Latin used denominator for the lower number in a fraction because it 'names' what kind of parts you are counting: thirds, fifths, or eighths. The term came into English in the 1500s as European arithmetic and algebra spread, keeping its Latin shape almost untouched. The spelling trap lives in that quiet middle: the unstressed -nomin- is easy to slip into '-nomen-' or to drop a vowel from, even though the 'name' root nomen is exactly what should anchor it.

How the word is built

• de- (completely, down)
• nomin- (from nomen: name)
• -ator (agent noun, the thing that does something)