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nubilum

Etymology and origin of the Latin word nubilum

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Lucretius
Ultimate origin
Latin (nūbēs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈnuː.bɪ.ɫũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈnuː.bi.lum][1]

Forms

nūbilum n (genitive nūbilī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter of nūbilus “cloudy”, used as a noun, from nūbēs (“cloud”).[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨nūbēs⟩ to Proto-Italic *(s)nouþ-(i-), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ne/oudʰ-, with Welsh nudd as its only direct cognate.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Among the OLD's earliest citations are Varro's Menippean Satires and Lucretius, cum ventī nūbila perflant “when the winds blow through the clouds”.[2] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant condensed vapour in the air, a cloud, in the plural clouds, as in Lucretius and Seneca; a cloudy sky, cloudy weather, as in Pliny the Younger and Suetonius; darkness, gloom, as of the underworld in Seneca and Martial; cloudiness in a clear substance, as of pearls in Pliny; and figuratively haziness of mind, gloomy thoughts, clouds of sadness, and a troubled state of affairs.[2][3]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a cloudy sky, and in the plural clouds.[6]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of clouds.[2][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it.[2][5]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of cloudy weather.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A cloud, (plural) clouds.[2]
  2. Cloudy weather, a cloudy sky.[2][3]
  3. Darkness, gloom.[2]
  4. Cloudiness (in a clear substance).[2]
  5. (figurative) Haziness; gloomy thoughts; a troubled state.[2]

Word family

  • nūbilārium
  • nūbilōsus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Nubilum.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nubilum. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·