English
Norma
Norma comes from Latin norma ‘pattern, model’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnorma‘pattern, model’
- Englishearliest quotation 1966Norma
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnorma‘pattern, model’
- Englishearliest quotation 1966Norma
Earliest quotation: 1966, Agatha Christie, Third Girl: “I wish I could remember that girl's Christian name.…”
The story
Coined name of an imaginary Celtic priestess in Bellini's opera Norma (1831). Sometimes explained as Latin norma (‘pattern, model’), or as a feminine form of Norman.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
can, could, know, note, notice, recognize, recognition, narrative, con, ken, keen, cognitive, glory, ignore, noble, notion, diagnostic, ignorant, cunning, notorious, cognition, narration, quaint, notation, nobility, prognosis, incognito, gnome, canny, notary, agnostic, notoriety, connoisseur, uncouth, canna, kith, recognizance, cognizance, annotate, gnosis, 92 more
Another origin of Norma
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-‘to recognise’uncertain
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγνώμων‘examiner, carpenter's square’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnorma‘a carpenter's square’
- EnglishtodayNorma
Named by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille in 1763.
Today it means
name A female given name originating as a coinage.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin norma / Norma