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nempe

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word nempe

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈnɛm.pɛ][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈnɛm.pe][1]

Forms

nempe (not comparable)[1] Plautus and Terence often scan it nĕmpĕ, with both syllables short.[2]

Etymology

It ends in the particle -pe found in quippe.[3][1][2] The OLD takes the first part as ⟨*nem⟩, from the pronoun root of nam (“for”), and Wiktionary and Lewis & Short derive it from nam;[3][1][2] the TLL, following Dunkel, starts instead from nē (“truly”) with an adverbial ⟨*-m⟩ and a particle ⟨*-pe⟩ “but”.[4] The OLD compares Lithuanian kaip (“how, as”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus,[5] who uses it in questions that expect agreement: nempe tū nōvistī mīlitem meum erum?, “you know my master the soldier, of course?”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Nempe backs up a statement with something the other person cannot deny: “of course, to be sure, without doubt”.[3][1] In questions it assumes the answer (“so I take it that …?”), in answers it confirms and spells out the other's meaning (“why, clearly; that is to say”), and it concedes a fact: “admittedly” (Cicero: scīmus nempe; haerēmus nihilō minus).[3][2] It is also used ironically, “forsooth”.[1]

Church Latin glosses it “truly, to be sure, namely, certainly”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: nempe tū nōvistī mīlitem meum erum?.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: scīmus nempe.[3][5]

Meanings

Particle

  1. Of course, to be sure, certainly.[3][2][1][6]
  2. (in questions) So I take it that …?[3]
  3. (in answers) Why, clearly; namely, that is to say.[3][1][6]
  4. Admittedly, it is true.[3]
  5. (ironic) Forsooth.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Nempe.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nempe. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·