• baltic languages
• body-part model
• history of number
• numeral systems
• numeral-noun phrase
• partitive model

Numerals have always received considerable attention in Linguistics. They have been studied from several points of view: historical morpho-phonology, linguistic typology, cognitive linguistics, etc. (see Introduction). The present work contributes towards the analysis of numerals in two main directions.

The first and more general one is to suggest an approach that keeps together contributions from different fields (history, archaeology, psychology, anthropology, linguistics), which are often kept apart. The “common” history of number is reviewed according to this unitary approach (Chapter 1).

The second contribution is concentrated on the Baltic languages (Old and Modern Lithuanian, Old and Modern Latvian, Old Prussian). Actually studies about numerals in Baltic linguistics deal mostly with etymology and historical morphology. Here we introduce (Chapter 2) and discuss (Chapter 3) Baltic numerals; in our analysis morpho-syntactical behaviour deserves special attention (adjective vs. partitive model in Numeral-Noun phrase). This behaviour reveals coeherent connections with the general history of number, with universal change directions and with the general features of the Indo-European system. On the other hand, it throws light on the peculiarities of the Baltic system, which must be highlighted in relation to the Slavic one.

Before the Conclusion, an Appendix can be found about Lithuanian numerals’ frequency of use. Here a new direction of analysis is suggested to be integrated with the morpho-syntactical one.