Etymologically
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νόμος

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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)
  • 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