"N" Word Origins

nontheist

Origin

From non- + theist.

nontipper

Origin

From non- + tipper.

nontransparent

Origin

From non- + transparent.

nontrivial

Origin

From non- + trivial.

nontruth

Origin

From non- + truth.

nonuniform

Origin

From non- + uniform.

nonuniformed

Origin

From non- + uniform + -ed.

nonuniversal

Origin

From non- + universal.

nonvalidity

Origin

From non- + validity.

nonviolence

Origin

From non- plus violence.

nonvirile

Origin

From non- + virile.

nonwar

Origin

From non- + war.

nonwavering

Origin

From non- + wavering.

noo

Old English

From Old English nu, "now," reflecting a dialect pronunciation without the later vowel shift found in standard English.

noob

Origin

A respelling of "newb," itself a shortened form of "newbie."

noocracy

Origin

From Ancient Greek νόος (nóos, “mind”) + -cracy.

noodle

Origin

The word's exact origin is unclear, though it may be linked to "noddle," an old word for "head."

noogenesis

Origin

Equivalent to noos + -genesis; first use appeared c. 1947.

noogie

Yiddish

Origin uncertain, possibly related to Yiddish nudzhen ("to badger") or an alteration of "nudge," similar to how "wedge" became "wedgie."

nook

Old English

From Middle English noke, of uncertain origin, possibly linked to an Old English word for "hook" or "bend."

nookie

Origin

Possibly from Dutch neuken (“to fuck”). Compare cognate and synonymous German Low German nöken, nucken.

nooky

Origin

From nook + -y.

noology

Origin

From Ancient Greek νόος (nóos, “mind”) + -λογία (-logía, “-logy”), equivalent to noos + -logy.

noon

Latin

From Old English non, "the ninth hour," borrowed from Latin nona (hora), "ninth hour" — originally referring to about 3pm, before the meaning shifted to midday.

noona

Korean

Borrowed from Korean 누나 (nuna), meaning "older sister of a man."

Noonan

Irish

Anglicization of Irish Ó hIonmhaineáin, from Ionmhaineán, a given name derived from the diminutive of Ionmhain (“beloved, dear”).

noonday

Origin

From noon + day.

Noone

Origin

From no + one. Compare Middle English noone, noon, noan (“noone”). More at none.

noontide

Origin

From Middle English non-tyde, from Old English nōntīd (“noontide”), equivalent to noon + tide.

Noor

Arabic

From Arabic نُور (nūr, “light”).

noose

Middle English

From Middle English "nose," probably borrowed from a Middle Low German word for a loop or snare — the exact origin is debated, but it may trace back to a Germanic word for an eyelet or ring.

noosphere

Origin

Borrowed from French noosphère, from Ancient Greek νόος (nóos, “mind, spirit”) + Ancient Greek σφαῖρα (sphaîra, “ball, globe”), developed and perhaps coined by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Vladimir Vernadsky, in analogy to atmosphere, biosphere etc. By surface analysis, nous (“mind”) + -sphere.

nootropic

Origin

Coined by Romanian psychologist and chemist Corneliu E. Giurgea in 1972, derived from the Ancient Greek words νόος (nóos, “mind”) and τροπέω (tropéō, “to turn”). By surface analysis, noo(s) + -tropic, literally “mind changing”.

nope

Origin

An emphatic variant of "no," formed by closing the lips into a final "p" sound — the same pattern seen in "yep" and "yup."

nor

Middle English

From Middle English "nauther," a contraction related to "neither" — by surface analysis simply "not" plus "or."

Nora

Origin

Short form of Eleanor or, rarely, of Honora.

Norbert

Origin

From Old High German nord (“north”) + beraht (“bright”).

Nord

French

From French Nord.

Nordic

French

Borrowed via French nordique from nord, "north."

Noreen

Irish

Anglicized from Irish Nóirín, a diminutive of Nóra.

Norfolk

Old English

Named after Norfolk, the English county, from Old English "Norþfolc" — literally "northern people."

nori

Japanese

From Japanese "nori" (海苔), the word for this type of edible seaweed.

Noriko

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese のりこ (Noriko).

nork

Origin

Unknown.

norm

Latin

From Latin "norma," meaning a carpenter's square or rule — something used to check that things are straight and standard.

Norma

Latin

From Latin norma, "carpenter's square" or "rule" — the same root that gives English the everyday word "norm."

normal

Latin · 1800

From Latin "normalis," meaning "made according to a carpenter's square," and later "according to a rule." The modern sense of "usual" or "healthy" developed in the 1800s as scientists began measuring things like height and blood pressure and calling the common values "normal."

normalcy

Origin · 1920

Formed from "normal" plus the suffix "-cy." Though originally used in mathematics, it became widely popular in the US after President Warren G. Harding used it in a famous 1920 speech about "a return to normalcy."