Etymograph

English

abnormal

From ab- + normal.

Formed from ab- + normal

Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo ‘off, away’

English ab-

Latin nōrma ‘carpenter's square’

Latin nōrmālis ‘made according to a carpenter's square’

English normal

first attested First attested in 1835, replacing the earlier anormal and even earlier abnormous, from Latin abnormis (“departing from normal”), from either ab- (“away from”) + norma (“rule, norm”), or Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos) (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in 1835, replacing the earlier anormal and even earlier abnormous, from Latin abnormis (‘departing from normal’), from either ab- (‘away from’) + norma (‘rule, norm’), or Ancient Greek ἀνώμαλος (anṓmalos).

Today it means

adj Not conforming to rule or system; deviating from the usual or normal type.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / abnormal

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