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nutus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word nutus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
first half of the 2nd century BC, Trabea
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*neu-e/o-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈnuː.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈnuː.tus][1]

Forms

nūtus m (genitive nūtūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the verb ⟨*nuō⟩ “to nod”, found in abnuō (“to refuse”) and nūtō (“to nod”), with the suffix -tus.[2][3][1] De Vaan derives ⟨-nuō⟩ from Proto-Italic *nowe/o- and Proto-Indo-European *neu-e/o- (“to nod”), cognate with Ancient Greek νεύω (neúō, “to nod, beckon”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives the comic poet Trabea as its first author,[5] who has “he will watch my nod for what I want”;[2] de Vaan dates it from Lucretius.[4]

Semantic evolution

It is a nod of the head used instead of speech, especially of assent, as in Cicero's Verrines and Livy's Scipio, who could have ended the dispute with a nod.[2][3] It is a nod of command, the least sign of someone's wishes, and the symbol of absolute power, as Virgil's Jupiter who “shook Olympus with his nod” and Cicero's desires tamed by the authority and nod of the laws.[2][3][1]

It is also any lowering of the head, as in dodging a blow in Statius or in sleep in Lucretius, and in physics the movement towards the centre, gravitation, as Cicero's earth held in the middle by its own force and downward pull.[2][1] Church Latin glosses it “nod, command, beck, will, wish”.[6]

Timeline

  • first half of the 2nd century BC – Trabea of watching a nod.[2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of a head nodding in sleep.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of assent, of the laws and of gravitation.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of Jupiter's nod.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A nod; a nod of assent.[2][3][1][6]
  2. A command, will, pleasure; absolute power.[2][3][1][6]
  3. A lowering of the head.[2]
  4. A downward tendency, gravitation.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b 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 e 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

“Nutus.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nutus. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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