"N" Word Origins

notably

Middle English

From Middle English notably, notabili, notablelyche, equivalent to notable + -ly.

notarized

Latin

From notary, via Latin notarius "clerk, shorthand writer", from nota "a mark or note", plus the verb-forming ending -ize.

notary

Latin

From Latin notarius ("clerk, secretary"), via Old French notarie.

notate

Origin

First attested in 1871; back-formation from notation or from Latin notātus, perfect passive participle of notō; either way, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, note + -ate.

notation

Latin

From Latin notātiō, related to notō ("to mark, note").

notative

Origin

From Latin notātus + English -ive.

notch

Old French · 1500

Recorded from the late 1500s, likely from a rebracketing of "an otch," from Old French oche ("notch").

notchback

Origin

From notch + back; compare hatchback.

notchy

Origin

From notch + -y.

note

Latin

From Latin nota ("mark, sign, note"), via Old French and Middle English note.

notecase

Origin

From note + case.

noteholder

Origin

From note + holder.

noteless

Origin

From note + -less.

notepad

Origin

A straightforward compound of note + pad.

noteworthy

Origin

A compound of note + worthy.

nother

Origin

A playful English reshuffling of "an other" into "a nother" — the same kind of sound-swap that turned "a napron" into "an apron."

nothing

Old English

From Old English nān þing, literally "not any thing."

nothingness

Origin

From nothing + -ness.

notice

Latin

From Latin nōtitia ("being known, knowledge"), via Middle French notice.

noticeable

Origin

From notice + -able.

notification

Latin

From Latin nōtificātiō, via Old French notification.

notify

Latin

From Old French notifier, ultimately from Latin notus ("known").

notion

Latin

From Latin nōtiō ("idea, concept"), from nōscō ("to know").

notional

Origin

From notion + -al.

notoriety

Latin

From Middle French notoriété, ultimately from Latin notus ("known").

notorious

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin notorius ("well-known, evident"), from Latin notus ("known"), the perfect participle of noscere ("to become acquainted with").

notoriously

Middle English

From Middle English notoryously, equivalent to notorious + -ly.

Notre-Dame

French

From French Notre-Dame, 'Our Lady', a title of the Virgin Mary.

notwithstanding

Middle English

From Middle English notwithstandinge, a fusion of not + withstanding, literally "not standing against it."

nougat

Latin

From French nougat, tracing back through Occitan to Latin nux, "nut" — a nod to the almonds or hazelnuts traditionally mixed in.

nought

Old English

From Old English nōwiht, a fusion of "no" and "wight" (creature/thing) — literally "not anything." A doublet of "naught" and "not."

noughties

Origin

From nought (“zero”) + -ies (“plural of -y”), in imitation of the names of other decades (twenties, thirties, etc).

noumenon

Origin

From German Noumenon, from Ancient Greek νοούμενον (nooúmenon, “thing that is known”), passive present participle of νοέω (noéō, “I know”).

noun

Latin

From Anglo-Norman noun ("name"), from Latin nomen, "name" — the same root that gives us "nominate" and "name."

nourish

Latin

From Old French nourir, from Latin nutrire, "to suckle, feed, cherish."

nourishment

Old French

From Old French norissement, built on the verb norrir — the source of "nourish."

nous

Ancient Greek

Borrowed from Ancient Greek nous, meaning "mind" or "intellect."

nouveau

French

A direct borrowing from French nouveau, "new" — a doublet of the English word "novel."

Nova

Latin

From Latin nova, "new," describing a star that appears newly bright.

Novak

Origin

From Czech or Slovak Novák, ultimately meaning "new one" or "newcomer."

novation

Latin

From Latin novatio, 'a renewing', from novare, 'to make new', from novus, 'new'.

novel

Latin

From Old French novel, "new," ultimately from Latin novus. The adjective and the fiction genre share this same root — both are about something "new."

novelist

Origin

From "novel" + the suffix "-ist," meaning "one who does."

novelty

Latin

From Old French novelté, ultimately from Latin novellus, "new."

November

Latin

From Latin November, from novem, "nine" — it was the ninth month in the old Roman calendar before January and February were added to the front.

novice

Latin

From Latin novicius, "newly arrived," from novus, "new" — also used historically for someone newly entered into a religious order.

novitiate

Origin

First attested in 1517; either borrowed from Middle French noviciat, novitiat or from Medieval Latin noviciātus, novitiātus (“a novitiate”), from Latin novicius, novitius + -ātus (see -ate (forming nouns denoting a rank or office)), from novus (“new”). Sense 1 is not attested in cognates.

novocastrian

Origin

From Latin novus (“new”) + castra (“castle, fort”).