Etymograph

English

nonet

Nonet comes from Italian nonetto, from nono ‘ninth’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥ ‘nine’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁néwn̥1‘nine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁newn̥(n)ós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowenos1‘ninth’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōnus2‘ninth’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentnono3‘ninth’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentnonetto3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1955nonet3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin nonus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Italian nono
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English nonet
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1955, The Saturday Review, Recordings Reports: Jazz On LPs: “The small-group sides are the best, with the nonet…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁néwn̥Wiktionary, Latin nonus‘nine’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁newn̥(n)ósWiktionary, Latin nonusreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nowenosWiktionary, Latin nonus‘ninth’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōnusWiktionary, Italian nono‘ninth’
  5. Italianc. 1300–presentnonoWiktionary, English nonet‘ninth’
  6. Italianc. 1300–presentnonettoWiktionary, English nonet
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1955nonetWiktionary, English nonet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1955, The Saturday Review, Recordings Reports: Jazz On LPs: “The small-group sides are the best, with the nonet…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥ ‘nine’

nine, ninth, 10 more

through Latin nōnus ‘ninth’

noon, 7 more

Today it means

noun A composition for nine instruments or nine voices.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nonet”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin nonus, Italian nono. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥ / nonet

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