νομάς

Forms

νομᾰ́ς (nomás) m or f (genitive νομᾰ́δος); third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Ancient Greek νομός (nomós, “pasture”) + -άς (-ás), “roaming the pasture”.^[2][3][1] Beekes notes that the base may also be νομή (nomḗ, “pasture”), since the two cannot always be told apart.^[4] Both nouns are ablaut derivatives of νέμω (némō, “to allot, distribute; to pasture”),^[4][5] which continues Proto-Hellenic *némō, from Proto-Indo-European *nem- (“to allot, take”).^[1][4]

The verb is cognate with Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (niman, “to take”) and Latin numerus (“number”).^[4] Other Germanic cognates are German nehmen and Dutch nemen.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Pindar and Aeschylus, of the 6th–5th century BC: both speak of nomad Scythians, and Aeschylus' Suppliants of roaming Indian women.^[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Herodotus uses οἱ νομάδες for the pastoral tribes of Scythia and Libya, and Aristotle for the nomadic way of life.^[2][4] The tragedians use it as a feminine adjective: Sophocles has grazing horses and calls the infant Oedipus, abandoned on Cithaeron, a wanderer,^[2][7] and Euripides applies it to the Cyclopes.^[2] In Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus the springs of the Cephisus are νομάδες, either “wandering” or “distributing” their waters.^[7][2] Its derivative νομαδικός (nomadikós) appears in Aristotle.^[4][5]

Polybius uses Νομάδες as the name of the Numidians.^[2][4] Guinea-fowl were accordingly called νομάδες ὄρνεις, and a marble from that country νομὰς λίθος.^[2] In the Septuagint it describes a fattened calf and grazing flocks, and in the Second Book of Maccabees the nomads.^[8][2] Philo uses it metaphorically of a prostitute.^[2]

Through Latin Nomas, used of wandering groups in Arabia, and French nomade it reached English as nomad in the 1550s.^[9][5] Modern Greek νομάδας (nomádas) is a learned singular formed from the ancient plural νομάδες; the Μείζον still lists the old form νομάς, of a wandering herdsman.^[10][11] The modern derivative νομαδισμός (nomadismós) renders French nomadisme.^[5]

Timeline

• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar and Aeschylus speak of nomad Scythians.^[2][5][12]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses οἱ νομάδες for pastoral tribes.^[2][12]
• 5th century BC – Sophocles uses it of grazing horses and of the abandoned Oedipus.^[2][7][12]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle describes the nomadic way of life.^[2][4][12]
• 2nd century BC – Polybius uses Νομάδες for the Numidians.^[2][12]
• 1550s – English borrows it, through Latin and French, as nomad.^[9]
• Modern Greek – The singular νομάδας (nomádas) is formed from the ancient plural.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Roaming in search of pasture, nomadic; of animals, grazing, free-range.^[2][7][8]
2. Wandering, adrift; of streams, perhaps wandering or distributing.^[2][7]
3. Pastoral, of a way of life.^[2]

Noun

1. οἱ νομάδες: pastoral tribes, nomads.^[2][4]
2. Νομάδες: the Numidians; hence νομάδες ὄρνεις, guinea-fowl.^[2][4]
3. (figurative) A prostitute, in Philo.^[2]

Word family

• νομαδικός (nomadikós)

Related words

• νέμω (némō)
• νομός (nomós)
• νομή (nomḗ)
• νομεύς (nomeús)
• Latin Nomas
• English nomad

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 Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1889), An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
6. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b c d e Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
8. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
11. ^ Τεγόπουλος, Γ.; Φυτράκης, Ε. (1997), Μείζον Ελληνικό Λεξικό, Athens: Αρμονία
12. ^ a b c d e Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge