normal English · revision 2640

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1500|origins=la norma}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈnɔː.məl/, US /ˈnɔːr.məl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|normal]],^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) [[bor|la-lat|normālis|t=in conformity with rule, normal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) in classical Latin “made according to a carpenter's square”,^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|norma|t=carpenter's square; rule, pattern]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) a word of unknown origin according to Etymonline,^(Etymonline) while Merriam-Webster derives it, probably, from Greek gnōmona, the accusative of gnṓmōn “pointer on a sundial, carpenter's square”.^(MWU 2024) It is related to [[norm]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ “Typical, common”, of a verb, in grammar: before 1500, in the Middle English translation of Donatus,^(Barnhart 1988) or about 1500.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In geometry ''normal'' meant “at a right angle, perpendicular” from 1650^(OED 1989) or the 1640s,^(Etymonline) and a perpendicular from 1727.^(Etymonline) The general meaning “conforming to the usual type, regular” is attested from 1828, but Barnhart thinks it must have been used earlier.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) As a noun, “the usual state”, it is from 1890.^(Etymonline) A ''normal school'', a training college for teachers, from 1835, translates French école normale (1794), meant to set a standard.^(Etymonline) “Heterosexual” is by 1914.^(Etymonline) ''Normalcy'' meant being at right angles in 1857, and was popularized in its general sense by President Warren G. Harding in 1920.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1500 – typical (grammar).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1650 – at a right angle.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1727 – noun, a perpendicular.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1828 – usual, regular.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1835 – ''normal school''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1890 – noun, the usual state.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1920 – ''normalcy'' popularized by Harding.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Usual, [[typical]] or expected; conforming to a standard.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Healthy; without [[physical]] or mental problems.^(AHD)

+ # ''(geometry)'' At right angles.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' Of a solution, containing one gram equivalent of solute per litre.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The usual or expected state or level: ''back to normal''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(geometry)'' A [[perpendicular]] line.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[normally]]

+ * [[normality]]

+ * [[antinormal]]

+ * [[binormal]]

+ * [[decanormal]]

+ * [[decinormal]]

+ * [[hypernormal]]

+ * [[lognormal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[norm]]

+ * [[normalcy]]

+ * [[normalize]]

+ * [[abnormal]]

+ * [[enormous]]

+ * [[paranormal]]

+ * [[know]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Normal'' stresses keeping to an established standard, while ''regular'' stresses an unchanging pattern and ''typical'' having the features of a group.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}