νόμος

Pronunciation

• IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /nó.mos/^[1]
• IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈno.mos/^[1]
• IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈno.mos/^[1]

Forms

νόμος (nómos) m (genitive νόμου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from νέμω (némō, “to distribute, allot”) with the /o/ grade and the suffix -ος (-os).^[1][2] The whole Greek system of these words, including νόμος, νομή (nomḗ) and νομός (nomós, “pasture”), is built on the present νέμω (némō).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is not in Homer.^[2] Its first recorded use is in Hesiod's Theogony (66): the Muses sing of the customs and ways of all.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense is custom, usage, the accepted standard of behaviour, sometimes divinely ordained.^[5] Pindar and Euripides personify Custom.^[5][2] It also meant a law or ordinance.^[1][6] “By custom” or “by convention” (νόμῳ) was opposed to “by nature” (φύσει) in Isocrates, Plato, Xenophon and Aristotle.^[5]

In music it meant a melody or strain and a type of song.^[1] Other senses were a coin and a course of masonry, and νοῦμμος (noûmmos) is a variant form.^[1] Its compounds include αὐτόνομος (autónomos) “independent”, εὐνομία (eunomía) “good order” and Δευτερονόμιον (Deuteronómion).^[1] Modern Greek νόμος continues it.^[7][8] English -nomy comes from the family.^[9]

Timeline

• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod uses it for customs.^[2][4]
• 6th–5th century BC – Pindar personifies Custom.^[5][10]
• 5th century BC – Herodotus uses νόμῳ for “by custom”.^[5][10]
• 5th–4th century BC – Plato opposes convention to nature.^[5][10]
• Modern Greek – νόμος means law.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. Usage, custom, convention.^[2][5]
2. A law, ordinance.^[1][6]
3. (music) A melody, strain; a kind of song.^[1]
4. A coin.^[1]
5. A course of masonry.^[1]

Word family

• ἀγορανόμος (agorānómos)
• ἀνομία (anomíā)
• ἄνομος (ánomos)
• ἀστυνόμος (astunómos)
• αὐτόνομος (autónomos)
• γυναικονόμος (gunaikonómos)
• ἐκνόμιος (eknómios)
• ἐκνόμως (eknómōs)
• ἐπίνομος (epínomos)
• εὐνομέομαι (eunoméomai)
• εὐνομία (eunomía)
• εὔνομος (eúnomos)
• ἰσόνομος (isónomos)
• κακόνομος (kakónomos)

Related words

• νέμος (némos)
• νομή (nomḗ)
• νομός (nomós)

Usage notes

The near-homograph νομός (nomós), with the accent on the last syllable, is a pasture, a dwelling or a province.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
5. ^ a b c d e f g Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
7. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
8. ^ Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
11. ^ 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