Etymologically
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nommer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /nɔ.me/[1]

Forms

nommer[1] Old French nomner (about 980), nomer (about 1155); nommer from the 13th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin nōminō (“to call by name; to mention; to propose for an office”),[5][2][4][6] from nōmen (“name”), the source of nom.[5][2] The learned nominer is a later borrowing of the same family.[1][2]

Cognate with Italian nominare, Old Occitan nomnar, Catalan nomenar, Spanish nombrar and Portuguese nomear.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) has nomner “to give a name to someone”.[5][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 12th century it took the senses “to mention someone by name” (about 1130), “to designate by name” (about 1150), “to give a name to something new” (Wace, 1155), “to call by a qualifying name” (about 1195) and “to make known by revealing the name” (Jean Bodel, late 12th century).[5][2] Robert Estienne records it in 1549 for standing godparent to a child.[5] The sense “to appoint to an office”, known in Latin, appears about 1225, and nommer son héritier universel “to make one's sole heir” in 1636.[5][2]

Modern usage has dropped “to list” (about 1119), “to fix (a sum, a date)” (1050), “to dictate” (about 1360) and “to announce” (about 1465).[2] In the 17th century it also meant “to vote for”, a sense lost to élire; in the 2000s être nommé for an award took on the meaning of English nominate.[2] The participle in à jour nommé is from the 13th century, and à point nommé is in Amyot (1559), “at the right moment” in Montaigne (1580).[5]

Timeline

  • c. 980 – Nomner in the Passion.[5]
  • c. 1080 – Renommer.[9]
  • c. 1130 – “To mention by name”.[5]
  • 1155 – “To name something new”, in Wace.[5]
  • c. 1225 – “To appoint”.[5]
  • 1449 – Susnommé.[9]
  • 1559 – À point nommé, in Amyot.[5]
  • 1636 – Nommer son héritier universel.[5]
  • 2000s – Être nommé for an award.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To Name, to give a name to (a person): Ses parents l'ont nommé Paul.[10][1]
  2. To give a name to (a thing, a concept): nommer un corps chimique nouvellement découvert.[10][5]
  3. To mention by name, to say the name of.[5][1]
  4. To appoint (to an office); to nominate.[5][1]
  5. Se nommer: to be called; to give one's name.[1][5]
  6. À point nommé: at just the right moment.[5][1]

Word family

  • dénommer
  • innommable
  • innommé
  • nommé
  • nommément
  • prénommer
  • renommer
  • renommée
  • surnommer
  • susnommé
  • nom
  • nomination
  • nominer

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 179a
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert