"N" Word Origins

nametag

Origin

A straightforward compound of name and tag.

nameword

Origin

From name + word. Compare Dutch naamwoord (“nameword, noun (sensu lato)”) and German Namenwort.

nameworthy

Origin

From name + -worthy.

Namibia

Origin

From "Namib" (the desert, from Khoekhoe namib) plus the country suffix "-ia."

namous

Origin

UK 19th century. Probably from Spanish vamos (“we go”) or vámonos (“let's go”). Possibly influenced by German nehmen (“to take”). Cognate with English vamoose. Possibly backslang from summon.

nan

Origin

A pet form of the once-common female names Anne and Agnes; the grandmother sense likely came via "nanny" under the influence of "mama."

nana

Origin

Formed by shortening banana, in the fruit sense; the "grandmother" sense is a separate, older baby-talk word found across many languages.

Nance

Origin

From "nancy," compare "prance" and "mince" for the verb sense.

nancy

Origin

From "Nancy," a pet form of the names Agnes and Anne.

Nanda

Origin

From Burmese နန္ဒာ (nanda).

Nandi

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit नन्दि (nandi).

Nandini

Sanskrit

From Hindi नंदिनी (nandinī), from Sanskrit, also used as an epithet of the goddess Durga.

nandu

French

Via French and Spanish from Guarani ñandu guasu.

nang

Origin

From Multicultural London English, tracing back through Jamaican Creole to West African words meaning "showing off."

nani

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 何 (nani).

Nanjing

Origin

From Mandarin 南京 (Nánjīng), meaning "southern capital," named to contrast with Beijing ("northern capital").

nanna

Italian

Probably from a very old, child-babbling-style root shared by many languages' words for grandmother, such as Italian nonna and Welsh nain.

Nanni

Italian

From Italian Nanni.

nanny

Origin

From "nan" (grandmother, nursemaid) plus -y, likely tracing back to an old, imitative baby-talk root for grandmother found across many languages.

nanosecond

Origin

From nano- (a billionth) plus second.

nanotechnology

Origin · 1986

From nano- plus technology; the term was popularised in 1986 by engineer Eric Drexler.

Nantes

French

From French Nantes.

nao

Spanish

From Spanish nao.

Naoko

Japanese

From Japanese なおこ (Naoko).

Naomi

Hebrew

From Hebrew נָעֳמִי (no'omí), literally "my pleasantness."

naomie

Origin

Variant of Naomi.

nap

Old English

From Old English hnappian, "to doze", going back to a Germanic root shared with other words for nodding off to sleep.

napa

Japanese

From the Japanese term 菜っ葉 (nappa), meaning "leafy greens."

napalm

Origin

A blend of "na(phthenic)" and "palm(itic)" acid — the two chemicals originally used to thicken the gasoline into a sticky gel.

nape

Middle English

From Middle English nape, of uncertain origin — possibly linked to an old word for a cup or hollow, describing the small dip at the base of the skull.

Napier

Origin

From an old occupational surname for someone in charge of table linen in a great house.

napkin

Origin

From Middle English napkyn, equivalent to nape (“cloth”) + -kin (diminutive suffix).

Naples

Latin

From Latin Neapolis, from Greek "néa pólis" meaning "new city" — the name given when Greek settlers founded the town.

Napoleon

French

From French Napoléon, ultimately from Italian Napoleone; often folk-explained as combining "Napoli" (Naples) and "leone" (lion), though the real origin is uncertain.

napoli

Origin

Borrowed from Italian Napoli, from Latin Neāpolis, from Ancient Greek Νεᾱ́πολῐς (Neā́polĭs), from νέᾱ (néā, “new”) + πόλῐς (pólĭs, “city”). Doublet of Nabeul, Nablus, Naples, Neapoli, and Neapolis.

nappy

Origin

A shortened, "-y" form likely built on napkin, itself already a smaller version of an older word for cloth.

Napster

Origin

Named after the file-sharing service Napster, itself named after founder Shawn Fanning's nickname, which referred to his curly ("nappy") hair.

Nara

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 奈良(なら) (Nara).

Narang

Origin

From Punjabi, related to a word for "orange" and ultimately connected to the same root as the English word orange.

Narasimha

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit, literally meaning "man-lion".

Narayan

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Hindi, ultimately from Sanskrit Narayana.

Narayana

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit Narayana, a name of Vishnu.

narc

Origin

A clipped form of "narcotics (control) officer".

narcissism

German

From German Narzissismus, built on the name Narcissus — the figure from Greek myth who fell in love with his own reflection — plus the suffix "-ism".

narcissist

Greek

From Narcissus, a figure in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own reflection.

narcissus

Latin

From Latin narcissus, borrowed from Greek, likely connected to a word for numbness — echoing the plant's reputed sedative properties.

narco

Origin

A clipped form of "narcoleptic".

narcolepsy

French

From French narcolepsie, built from Greek roots meaning "put to sleep" and "seizure".