Etymologically
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nomenclatura

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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