"N" Word Origins

nationwide

Origin

A straightforward combination of "nation" and "wide," meaning spread across the whole country.

native

Latin

From Old French natif, from Latin nātīvus, "born, natural," from nātus, "born."

nativity

Latin

From Latin nātīvitās, "birth," from nātus, "born" — the same root as "native" and "natal."

nato

Origin

From North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Natsu

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese 夏(なつ) (natsu).

Natsuko

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese なつこ (Natsuko).

natter

Origin

From a Northern England dialectal variant of gnatter (also knatter) ("to chatter, grumble; nibble away at"), ultimately of imitative origin. Cognate with German Low German gnattern (“to mumble, grumble, be grouchy”).

nattersome

Origin

From natter + -some.

natty

Origin

Origin uncertain; likely connected to "natural," possibly starting out as informal slang before settling into its "smart, tidy" meaning.

natural

Latin

From Latin nātūrālis, from nātūra, "nature," ultimately from nāscor, "to be born."

natural selection

Origin

Coined by British biologist Charles Darwin in 1859 in his work On the Origin of Species.

naturalise

Origin

From Middle French naturaliser. By surface analysis, natural + -ise.

naturalism

Origin

From natural + -ism. Compare French naturalisme.

naturalist

Origin

From "natural" plus the agent suffix "-ist," meaning someone devoted to the study of nature.

naturalistic

Origin

From natural + -istic.

naturalization

Origin

From Middle French naturalisation.

naturalize

Origin

From Middle French naturaliser. By surface analysis, natural + -ize.

naturally

Origin

From "natural" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly."

nature

Latin

From Old French nature, from Latin natura ("birth, constitution, character"), from natus, "born" — the same root that gives us "native" and "nation."

naturism

Origin

Borrowed from French naturisme. By surface analysis, natur(e) + -ism.

naught

Old English

From Old English nawiht, literally "no thing" — built from ne ("not") plus wiht ("thing, creature"), the same wiht that survives in "wight."

naughty

Middle English

From Middle English naughty, built from naught ("nothing, wickedness") plus -y — originally meant "wicked" or "worthless" before softening to today's "mischievous" sense.

nausea

Latin

From Latin nausea, from Greek nausia, "seasickness," from naus, "ship" — the same root as "nautical" and "navy."

nauseate

Origin

From earlier nauseat, from Latin nauseātus (“nauseated”), perfect past participle of nauseō (“to feel sea sick, nauseate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix, of participial origin)), from nausea, from Ancient Greek ναυσία (nausía), from ναῦς (naûs), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂-. By surface analysis, nausea + -ate (verb-forming suffix).

nauseous

Latin

From Latin nauseosus, "causing nausea," from nausea plus the adjective ending -osus.

nautical

Latin

From French nautique, from Latin nauticus, from Greek nautikos, "of sailors," from naus, "ship."

nautilus

Latin

From Latin nautilus, from Greek nautilos, "sailor" — the shell's tentacled opening reminded people of a sailor rowing a boat.

nav

Origin

A clipped, informal shortening of "navigation" or "navigate."

Nava

Spanish

From Spanish, Catalan and Asturian-Leonese surname, from several placenames derived from nava (“plain, treeless plateau”), from Paleo-Hispanic, probably Basque naba (“plain, valley”). See Navarra.

Navajo

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Navajo, itself from the Tewa word navahúuˀu, meaning roughly "field next to a ravine."

naval

Latin

From Latin navalis, "of ships," from navis, "ship."

Navarre

French

From French Navarre, from Spanish Navarra.

Navarro

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Navarro, from navarro, demonym of Navarra, from Basque Nafarroa.

nave

Latin

From Latin navis, "ship" — early church naves were thought to resemble an upturned ship's hull.

naveed

Origin

Variant spelling of Navid.

navel

Old English

From Old English nafola, from Proto-Germanic roots meaning "hub" — the same ancient root also produced the word "nave" (a wheel hub).

Navid

Persian

From Persian نوید (navid, novid, literally “good news”).

Navidad

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Navidad. The surname is mostly found in the Philippines.

navigate

Latin

From Latin navigare, "to sail a ship," from navis ("ship") plus agere ("to drive").

navigation

Latin

From Latin navigationem, "sailing," from navigare, "to sail."

navigational

Origin

From navigation + -al.

navigator

Latin

From Latin navigator, "sailor," from navigare, "to sail."

navvy

Origin

Clipping of navigator, in reference to the navigation canals upon which these workers first toiled, + -y.

navy

Latin

From Old French navie, "fleet of ships," from Latin navigium, from navis, "ship" — the color sense comes from the traditional dark blue of naval uniforms.

naw

Origin

In Scottish use, from Scots naw, naa, na, from Middle English na, from Old English nā (“no, never”). More generally, a colloquial, unarticulated form of no; compare nah. More at no.

nawab

Arabic

From Urdu/Hindi nawab, from Persian, ultimately from Arabic nuwwab, plural of na'ib, "deputy."

nay

Old Norse

From Old Norse nei, "no" — a contraction of ne ("not") and ei ("ever"). A doublet of the modern word "no."

Naylor

Origin

An English occupational surname for a maker of nails.