English
nominal
Nominal comes from Latin nōminālis ‘of names’, from nōmen ‘name’, and ultimately from Hittite ḫannaⁱ- ‘to sue, judge’.
- Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥‘name’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmen‘name’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōminālis‘of names’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nominalle‘of nouns’
- Englishearliest quotation 1991nominal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥‘name’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmen‘name’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōminālis‘of names’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nominalle‘of nouns’
- Englishearliest quotation 1991nominal
Earliest quotation: 1991, Richard J. Gilbert: “Comparisons of the costs of the Diablo Canyon plant…”
Formed from -al
The story
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’
name, pseudonym, anonymity, 34 more
through Latin nōmen ‘name’
noun, allocate, renown, misnomer, ignominious, nomen, ignominy, 22 more
Today it means
adj Of, resembling, relating to, or consisting of a name or names.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Hittite ḫannaⁱ- / nominal