English
nominal
Nominal comes from Latin nōminālis ‘of names’, from nōmen ‘name’, and ultimately from Hittite 𒄩𒀭𒈾𒄿 ‘to sue, judge’.
- Hittitemodern𒄩𒀭𒈾𒄿1ḫannaⁱ-‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥2‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥2‘name’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmen2‘name’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōminālis2‘of names’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nominalle2‘of nouns’
- Englishearliest quotation 1991nominal2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
- 2 Wiktionary, English nominal
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Richard J. Gilbert: “Comparisons of the costs of the Diablo Canyon plant…”.
Lineage
- Hittitemodern𒄩𒀭𒈾𒄿Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ḫannaⁱ-‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥Wiktionary, English nominal‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥Wiktionary, English nominal‘name’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmenWiktionary, English nominal‘name’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōminālisWiktionary, English nominal‘of names’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nominalleWiktionary, English nominal‘of nouns’
- Englishearliest quotation 1991nominalWiktionary, English nominal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1991, Richard J. Gilbert: “Comparisons of the costs of the Diablo Canyon plant…”
The story
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’
through Latin nōmen ‘name’
Today it means
adj Of, resembling, relating to, or consisting of a name or names.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “nominal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Hittite 𒄩𒀭𒈾𒄿 / nominal