Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913
Numerator
Nu′mer·a′tor (nū′mẽr·ā′tẽr), n. [L. numerator: cf. F. numérateur.]
1. One who numbers.
2. (Math.) The term in a fraction which indicates the number of fractional units that are taken.
☞ In a vulgar fraction the numerator is written above a line; thus, in the fraction 5⁄9 (five ninths) 5 is the numerator; in a decimal fraction it is the number which follows the decimal point. See Fraction.