"N" Word Origins

nog

Origin

A variant of the older word "knag," referring to a small peg or block of wood.

Nogales

Spanish

From Spanish "nogales," meaning "walnut trees."

noggin

Origin

Uncertain. First use appears c. 1588. Appears in publications in the 1600s (e.g. in The Tincker of Turvey) in several forms including the still-current Irish English form naggin, the rare older Irish, Scottish and Northern English form noggan, used by Jonathan Swift, and the Wexford form nuggeen. Tomás S. Ó Máille and some older dictionaries like Skeat's derive it from Irish naigín, cnaigín, from cnagaire, cnag, but the Oxford English Dictionary argues that Irish naigín and Scottish Gaelic noigean instead derive from English. Compare nog.

Noh

Japanese

An irregular romanization of Japanese 能 (nō), meaning "skill" or "talent."

noir

French

Shortened from the French phrase film noir ("black film"), also related to the English word "negro."

noirette

Origin

From French noir (“black”) + -ette, after brunette. Compare French and Middle French noirette.

noirish

Origin

Formed from "noir" plus the adjective suffix "-ish."

noise

Latin

From Old French noise ("dispute, strife"), of uncertain deeper origin, possibly related to Latin words for "disgust" or "harm."

noisily

Origin

Formed from "noisy" plus the adverb ending "-ly."

noisome

Origin

From Middle English noysom; equivalent to noy + -some (short for annoy, from an(n)oien, enoien from Anglo-Norman anuier, from Old French enuier (French ennuyer), from Late Latin inodiare, from in- (intensive prefix) + odium (“hate”)).

noisy

Origin

Formed from "noise" plus the adjective ending "-y."

Nokia

Origin

Named after the town of Nokia in Finland, where the company that became the phone maker was originally based.

nola

Latin

From Latin nola, popularly linked to the Italian town of Nola, said to be where church bells were first used in Christian worship — though it may simply be an imitation of the bell's sound.

Nolan

Irish

Anglicized from the Irish surname Ó Nualláin, meaning "descendant of Nuallán," a name built on the word for a champion or chariot-fighter.

nom

Origin · 2007

An imitation of chewing sounds, popularized online from around 2007 and linked to Cookie Monster's catchphrase on Sesame Street, originally spelled "num num" before settling into today's "nom nom."

noma

Ancient Greek

From New Latin noma, tracing back to Ancient Greek nomē, "spreading (of sores)," from a verb meaning to feed or devour.

nomad

Greek

From Greek nomas, "wandering shepherd," rooted in nomos, "pasture" — the idea of moving around in search of grazing land.

nomadic

Greek

From Greek nomadikos, built on nomad plus the adjective-forming suffix -ic.

nome

Greek

From Greek nomos, "district," itself from a verb meaning "to divide."

nomenclature

Latin

From Latin nomenclatura "a calling by name", from nomen "name" and calare "to call". A Roman nomenclator was the slave who whispered the names of approaching citizens to his master.

nominal

Latin

From Latin nominalis, "of names," ultimately from nomen, "name."

nominalism

Origin

From French nominalisme. By surface analysis, nominal + -ism.

nominate

Latin

From Latin nominatus, past participle of nomino, "to name," from nomen, "a name."

nomination

Latin

From Latin nominatio, from the verb nomino, "to name."

nominee

Origin

From nominate plus the suffix -ee, meaning "one to whom an action is done."

Nomura

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 野村 (Nomura).

non sequitur

Latin

Latin for "it does not follow", from non "not" and sequitur "it follows", from sequi "to follow".

non-denominational

Latin

From non-, 'not', plus denomination, from Latin denominare, 'to name'.

non-fiction

English

Formed from the prefix non-, meaning "not", plus fiction, from Latin fingere "to shape or invent".

Nona

Latin

From Latin for "the ninth," reflecting her role in being invoked during the ninth month of pregnancy.

nonabhorrent

Origin

From non- + abhorrent.

nonaccompanied

Origin

From non- + accompanied.

nonacquittal

Origin

From non- + acquittal.

nonaddict

Origin

From non- + addict.

nonaddictive

Origin

From non- + addictive.

nonadmissible

Origin

From non- + admissible.

nonage

Origin

From Anglo-Norman nounage, corresponding to non- + age.

nonagenarian

Origin

From Latin nōnāgēnārius (“containing ninety”) + -an (suffix forming adjectives and representative nouns), either directly or via French nonagénaire, from nōnāgēnī (“ninety each”) + -ārius (“-ary”), from nōnāginta (“nine tens, ninety”).

nonagency

Origin

From non- + agency.

nonalignment

Origin

From non- + alignment.

nonaloof

Origin

From non- + aloof.

nonangelic

Origin

From non- + angelic.

nonappearance

Origin

From Middle English noon apparans, noon apparaunce, noun apperaunce; equivalent to non- + appearance.

nonapplicable

Origin

From non- + applicable.

nonarticulated

Origin

From non- + articulated.

nonassent

Origin

From non- + assent.

nonathlete

Origin

From non- + athlete.

nonatonement

Origin

From non- + atonement.