English
nominalism
Nominalism comes from Latin nominālis ‘nominal (of a name)’, and goes back to Hittite ḫannaⁱ- ‘to sue, judge’.
- Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-1transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘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
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnominālis3‘nominal (of a name)’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentnominal4
- Frenchc. 1600–presentnominalisme5
- Englishearliest quotation 2021nominalism5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin nominalis
- 3 Wiktionary, French nominal
- 4 Wiktionary, French nominalisme
- 5 Wiktionary, English nominalism
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2021, Meghan O'Gieblyn, Human: “Blumenberg's thesis, which has since been reiterated by a…”.
Lineage
- Hittitemodernḫannaⁱ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥transliteratedcuneiform ḫannaⁱ-, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘to sue, judge’
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁nómn̥Wiktionary, Latin nominalis‘name’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nōmn̥Wiktionary, Latin nominalis‘name’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōmenWiktionary, Latin nominalis
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnominālisWiktionary, French nominal‘nominal (of a name)’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentnominalWiktionary, French nominalisme
- Frenchc. 1600–presentnominalismeWiktionary, English nominalism
- Englishearliest quotation 2021nominalismWiktionary, English nominalism. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2021, Meghan O'Gieblyn, Human: “Blumenberg's thesis, which has since been reiterated by a…”
Equivalent to nominal + -ism
Hittite Hittite form ‘to sue, judge’
…
Proto-Italic *nōmn̥ ‘name’
Latin nōmen ‘name’
Latin nōminālis ‘of names’
Middle English nominalle ‘of nouns’
English nominal
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ ‘name’
name, anonymity, pseudonym, 32 more
through Latin nōmen
noun, nomination, allocate, renown, misnomer, nominative, nomen, ignominious, ignominy, 20 more
Today it means
noun A doctrine that universals do not have an existence except as names for classes of concrete objects.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “nominalism”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥, Latin nominalis, French nominal, French nominalisme. 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 ḫannaⁱ- / nominalism