Etymograph

English

numinous

Numinous comes from Latin nūmen ‘nod of the head’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūmen‘nod of the head’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1647numinous

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūmen‘nod of the head’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1647numinous

Earliest quotation: 1647, Theodore de la Guard pseudonym; Nathanie, The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America. […]: “The Will of a King is very numinous; it…”

Formed from -ous

The story

Nūmen is believed to derive either from Latin *nuō (‘to nod’) or from Ancient Greek νοούμενον (nooúmenon, “influence perceptible by the mind but not the senses”) (ultimately from νόος (nóos, “mind; thought; purpose”)).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *new- ‘to nod’

need, novel, renew, novice, renovate, nouveau, 12 more

through Latin *nuō ‘to nod’

innuendo, 4 more

Today it means

adj Of or relating to a numen (divinity); indicating the presence of a divinity.

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

Etymograph / Latin nūmen / numinous

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