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nasalis

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word nasalis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
Ultimate origin
Latin nāsus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nāsus
French nez
Italian naso
Latin nāsālis
English nasal
From the same root
Latin nāsūtus ← nāsus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [naːˈsaː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [naˈs̬aː.lis][1]

Forms

nāsālis (neuter nāsāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin nāsus + -ālis, from the word for the nose.[1][2] The DMLBS classes it as a Medieval Latin word.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in glossaries, meaning “of the nose”.[2] The glossary of Huguccio (Ugutio) defines the adjective as “pertaining to the nose” and the neuter noun as the part of a helmet that protects the nose,[4] and Geoffrey of Monmouth tells how Hengist was seized by the nose-guard of his helmet.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

As a neuter noun, nāsāle named the nasal or nose-guard of a helmet, a sense also found in Landulf of Milan,[4] and in British sources an ornament for a horse's nose.[3] Medical writers used it for an instrument for putting medicine into the nose, and an English account of 1390 uses it for the nozzle of a candle-holder held by a small figure of an angel.[3]

In New Latin it became an anatomical adjective, “nasal”, and English took it over as the name nasalis.[1]

Timeline

  • 1390 – An English account uses the neuter noun for the nozzle of a candle-holder.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to the nose.[4][2]
  2. (New Latin, anatomy) Nasal.[1]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin; neuter) The nasal or nose-guard of a helmet.[4][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin; neuter) An ornament for a horse's nose.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin; neuter, medicine) An instrument for putting medicine into the nose.[3]
  4. (Medieval Latin; neuter) The nozzle of a candle-holder.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT

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Cite this entry

“Nasalis.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nasalis. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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