Etymograph

English

numinosity

Numinosity comes from Latin nūmen ‘a nod of the head’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūmen1‘a nod of the head’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1981numinosity1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English numinosity
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology: “Civilization is, through the numinosity of divine kingship, the…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūmenWiktionary, English numinosity‘a nod of the head’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1981numinosityWiktionary, English numinosity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology: “Civilization is, through the numinosity of divine kingship, the…”

Formed from nūmen + -osity

Linked words

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

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

through Latin *nuō ‘to nod’

innuendo, 4 more

Today it means

noun Quality of being numinous.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “numinosity”. 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 / Latin nūmen / numinosity

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