Etymograph

English

nude

Nude comes from Latin nūdus ‘naked, bare’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *negʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*negʷ-1‘to be naked’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nogʷós2‘naked’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nogʷedʰós2reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nogʷedos2‘naked’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūdus3‘naked, bare’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nud3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1825nude3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin nudus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English nude
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1825, Sir William Hay Macnaghten: “A void sale is that which can never take…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*negʷ-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós‘to be naked’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nogʷósWiktionary, Latin nudus‘naked’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nogʷedʰósWiktionary, Latin nudusreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nogʷedosWiktionary, Latin nudus‘naked’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūdusWiktionary, English nude‘naked, bare’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nudWiktionary, English nude
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1825nudeWiktionary, English nude. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1825, Sir William Hay Macnaghten: “A void sale is that which can never take…”

The story

Entered English 1493 as a legal term, meaning "unsupported, not formally attested," from Middle English nud, from Latin nūdus (‘naked, bare’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *negʷ- ‘to be naked’

night, naked, negro, gymnastics, noir, nigger, nocturnal, actin, nox, nocturne, denigrate, nigella, 51 more

through Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós ‘naked’

gymnasium, gymnast, naga, 12 more

through Latin nūdus ‘naked, bare’

nudism, 6 more

Today it means

adj Without clothing or other covering of the skin; without clothing on the genitals or female nipples.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nude”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós, Latin nudus. 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 *negʷ- / nude

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