Numerate

Numerate

Adjective / Verb · /ˈnjuː.mər.ɪt/ (adjective), /ˈnjuː.mər.eɪt/ (verb)

Definition

(Adjective) having a good basic knowledge and understanding of mathematics; able to understand and work with numbers; having numerical literacy — the numerical counterpart of literate; (Verb, formal) to count or read off numbers; to enumerate.

Origin

From Latin numerare (to count, to number), from numerus (number), from Proto-Indo-European *nem- (to assign, to allot). The adjective numerate being a back-formation from numeracy, coined in Britain in the 1959 Crowther Report on secondary education — a deliberate parallel to literate and literacy. The Crowther Report defining numeracy as the mirror image of literacy, involving a familiarity with the scientific method and quantitative thinking. The word being relatively modern in its educational-competency sense.