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nomenclatura

Etymology and origin of the Latin word nomenclatura

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Pliny the Elder
Ultimate origin
Latin (nōmen,calō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nomenclatura
English nomenclature

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [noː.mɛŋ.kɫaːˈtuː.ra][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [no.meŋ.klaˈtuː.ra][1]

Forms

nōmenclātūra f (genitive nōmenclātūrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from nōmen “name” and calō “to call out”, with the suffix -ūra.[2][1] Gaffiot and Etymonline connect it with nōmenclātor “a slave who named people for his master”.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder uses it in the preface to his third book and of the names of plants.[5][6] Köbler dates him 23/24–79 AD.[7]

Semantic evolution

The OLD defines it as the giving of names to things, or the mentioning of things by name, and Lewis & Short call it Plinian.[2][5] Georges and Wiktionary also give the sense of a list of names.[6][1]

In medieval Latin it was a list of words, as in Beleth.[8] English nomenclature came through French around 1600, first meaning “a name”.[4]

Timeline

  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of naming.[5][7]
  • c. 1600 – English nomenclature is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A naming, nomenclature; a calling by name.[2][5]
  2. A list of names.[6][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A list of words.[8]
  • nōmen
  • nōmenclātiō
  • nōmenclātor
  • nōminālis
  • nōmināliter
  • nōminātim
  • nōminātiō
  • nōminātīvus
  • nōminātor
  • nōminātōrius
  • English nomenclature

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b 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

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Nomenclatura.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nomenclatura. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·