norm

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /nɔːm/, US /nɔːrm/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French norme,^[2][3] from Latin norma (“carpenter's square, rule, pattern”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a word of uncertain origin;^[2][3] Klein suggests a borrowing, through Etruscan, of Ancient Greek γνώμων (gnṓmōn, “carpenter's square”).^[3] An earlier form, norme (1635), came from French, and the Latin form was used in English before 1676.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A standard, pattern or model: 1821, in Coleridge.^[2][3][7] Merriam-Webster gives 1674.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word became common from about 1855.^[7] In mathematics it is used in algebra from 1856 and for the length of a vector from 1921.^[7] In Communist countries a norm was a prescribed standard unit of work (1935).^[7] The Latin norma, a carpenter's square, was used in English from the 1670s, and Norma is a small southern constellation named in the 18th century by La Caille.^[3] Normal meant at right angles in the 17th century and conforming to a standard in the 19th.^[4]

Timeline

• 1635 – norme.^[2]
• 1821 – a norm, standard.^[2][7]
• 1856 – norm (algebra).^[7]
• 1921 – the norm of a vector.^[7]
• 1935 – a work norm.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A standard, model or pattern regarded as typical.
2. An average level of achievement or performance.
3. (sociology) An established standard of behaviour shared by the members of a group.
4. (mathematics) The length of a vector.
5. (statistics) A mode or average.

Word family

• normless

Related words

• abnormity
• normal
• normative
• normo-
• enormous
• gnomon

Usage notes

In Australia, Norm is a stereotype of the unathletic man, from a cartoon figure in a government fitness campaign.^[8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins