Etymologically
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nu

Etymology and origin of the French word nu

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1100, Chanson de Roland
Inherited from
Latin nudus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (nūdus)

Pronunciation

Forms

nu (feminine nue, masculine plural nus, feminine plural nues)[1] Old French nud, nut and nu (1080).[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French nu, inherited from Latin nūdus (“unclothed; stripped of; bare, plain”).[2][3][4][1][5] Rey notes that Latin “nūdus” was sometimes used like Ancient Greek γυμνός (gumnós) for “lightly clad” and “unadorned”, and that it continues an Indo-European adjective also seen in Old Church Slavonic нагъ (nagŭ) and Lithuanian nuogas; the Petit Robert compares the Germanic form behind English naked and German nackt.[2][6] Wiktionary gives Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós.[1]

Cognate with Italian nudo, Old Occitan nut, Catalan nu and Portuguese nu.[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) the first record, os nut, means bones stripped of flesh; the same poem has a sword drawn from its scabbard: Durendal sa bone espée nue.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

“Unclothed” is found early in the 12th century, often strengthened as tout nu (1530) or nu comme un ver (about 1278); by extension it meant poorly dressed (1176–81), now archaic.[2] A horse without saddle or harness was nu (1590), and the unaided eye gave à œil nud (1690), later à l'œil nu.[2][8] Of things it means bare, unadorned (Wace, 1155): bare land (1609), a sparsely furnished room (1690), and, from the 16th century plain, stripped of ornament, of truth (1547) and of style (1549).[2] À nu dates from 1174–76.[2] As a noun le nu (1535) is a bare part of the body and, in art, the nude (1669).[2] The compounds nue-propriété (1765) and nu-pieds and the derivatives nudisme (1932) and nudiste (1929) followed.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Os nut, espée nue, Chanson de Roland.[2][7]
  • Early 12th century – “Unclothed”.[2]
  • 1155 – Of things, “bare”, Wace.[2]
  • c. 1278 – Nu comme un ver.[2]
  • 1547 – La vérité nue.[2]
  • 1669 – Un nu, in art.[2]
  • 1690 – À œil nud.[2]
  • 1765 – Nue-propriété.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. naked, nude: être tout nu, nu comme un ver.[6][1]
  2. bare, uncovered: pieds nus, tête nue, à mains nues.[6][7]
  3. Bare, unadorned: un mur nu, une pièce nue.[2][9]
  4. Plain, unvarnished: la vérité toute nue.[2][8]
  5. À l'œil nu: with the naked eye.[2][9]
  6. (law) Nue-propriété: ownership without usufruct.[2]

Noun

  1. (art) A nude.[1][2]
  2. À nu: bare, exposed: mettre à nu.[2][9]

Word family

  • nûment
  • nudisme
  • nudiste
  • nu-pieds
  • va-nu-pieds
  • nue-propriété
  • nudité
  • dénuder
  • dénuer
  • Latin nūdus

Usage notes

Before a noun and joined with a hyphen, nu is invariable: nu-pieds, nu-tête, but pieds nus.[7] A separate noun nu is the Greek letter nu (Ν, ν), from Ancient Greek νῦ (nû), Tory wrote it gni in 1529, and the form nu is in the Encyclopédie (1765).[10][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 228a
  6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ 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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Nu.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/nu. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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