Numbers, Counting
Linguistic Origin

Here is our list example of the inter-relationship of world language counting origins based on "number words".
Except for the LexiLine addition of Latvian
and German terms, the list is based on
Martin Kuckenburg "und sprachen das erste Wort:
Die Entstehung von Sprache und Schrift", Econ Verlag,
Duesseldorf, 1996, 2d. ed. 1998, p. 130.

LANGUAGE

WORD

MEANING

Latvian

CIK
pronounced
TSIK

"How many"
"How much"

Latvian

CIKos

"At what time"

Latvian

TIK

"so much, so many, so few"

Latvian

TIKai

"only"

Latvian

IK

"every"

Latvian

IK-skis

"thumb"

*Indo-European

*dik

"point with a finger"

Inuit Eskimo

tik

"index finger"

AmerIndian

tik

"finger"

Latvian

dieg-

"string, slender object"

Uralic

ik odik itik

"one"

Nilo-Saharan

tok tek dik

"one"

Sino-Tibetan

tik

"one"

Na-Dene

tek tiki tak

"one"

German

Tatze

"paw"

Japanese

te

"hand"

Austroasiatic

ti

"hand, arm"

Indopacific

tong tang teng

"finger, hand, arm"

Latvian

SIT-  SITO
pronounced s as sh

"this one"

Latvian

CIT CITO
pronounced
TSIT TSITUO

"another, other, other one"
thus Latvian CHE-TRIS "four"
derives from CIT-TRIS "1+3"

South Caucasus

titi tito

"finger, single, singly"