Etymologically
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nimbus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word nimbus

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈnɪm.bʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈnim.bus][1]

Forms

nimbus m (genitive nimbī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It may go back to Proto-Italic *nefos-, from Proto-Indo-European *nébʰos (“cloud”), the source of nebula, with the -m- explained by the influence of imber “shower”; de Vaan calls this possible but gratuitous.[2][1] Pokorny and the OLD set up a nasalized root *nembʰ- “wet”, comparing a Pahlavi and Persian word for moisture, Middle Persian namb.[3][4][5]

The root *nebʰ- is also seen in Sanskrit नभस् (nábhas, “cloud, sky”), Ancient Greek νέφος (néphos, “cloud”), Old Church Slavonic небо (nebo, “sky”) and Hittite nēpiš (“sky”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Pacuvius, in the 2nd century BC,[2][5] who writes of “the blackness of night and of storm clouds”.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

The word meant a rain cloud or thundercloud and a sudden downpour, and was extended to clouds of smoke or sand and to a dense crowd, as of foot soldiers in Virgil.[4][6] Cicero used it figuratively for a sudden misfortune that soon passed.[4] Later writers used it for a shower of any liquid, such as spray or perfume, and for a hail of missiles or blows.[4]

It also named the bright cloud surrounding a god who appears on earth, as Servius explains, and in Christian art the halo around the head of a saint.[6][7][8] English borrowed it in the 1610s for the bright cloud around a divine being.[9]

Timeline

  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it for storm clouds.[4][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it for showers and clouds of sand.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it figuratively for a passing disaster.[4][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil describes Venus surrounded by a cloud.[4][5]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville uses it for the halo of a saint.[7][5]
  • 1610s – English borrows it as English nimbus.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A rain cloud, storm cloud; a cloud of smoke or sand.[4][6]
  2. A dense crowd.[4]
  3. A sudden downpour; figuratively, a sudden misfortune.[4]
  4. A shower or spray of liquid; a hail (of missiles, blows).[4]
  5. The bright cloud surrounding a god, (Christian Latin) a halo.[6][8]

Word family

  • nimbātus
  • nimbifer
  • nimbōsus
  • nebula
  • nūbēs
  • nūbifer
  • nūbigena
  • nūbilum
  • nūbilus
  • imber
  • English nimbus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Nimbus.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nimbus. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .