Etymograph

English

res nullius

Res nullius comes from Latin rēs nūllīus ‘nobody's thing’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēs nūllīus1‘nobody's thing’
  2. Englishtodayres nullius1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English res nullius

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēs nūllīusWiktionary, English res nullius‘nobody's thing’
  2. Englishtodayres nulliusWiktionary, English res nullius

Every English word from Latin rēs nūllīus

Today it means

noun Something that has no owner and is not subject to the jurisdiction of any state, but is susceptible to national appropriation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “res nullius”. 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 rēs nūllīus / res nullius

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