numen Latin · revision 8317

16 Oct 2026, 16:01 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=Accius|origins=la nūtō}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈnuː.mɛn]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈnuː.men]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''nūmen''' ''n'' (genitive nūminis); third declension^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is from ⟨*nuō⟩ “to nod”, as in [[nūtō]] and [[nūtus]], with the suffix [[-men]], so “a nod”, the will of the gods shown by a nod.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) Varro says ⟨nūmen⟩ is command, named from the nod (⟨nūtus⟩) of the one by whose nod all things are.^(Varro)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The OLD's earliest citation is from Accius, of divine power.^(OLD 2012) Köbler's first source is Lucilius; he dates Accius 170–c. 90 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ In Lucretius it meant a nod of the head.^(OLD 2012) From Accius it meant divine power, in Cicero the divine will, and divine nature, godhead, in Ovid a divine presence in a place, and in Virgil a deity, a god.^(OLD 2012) Döderlein explains that ''nūmen'' is any divine being in the wider sense, and in a narrower sense a kind of god or demigod.^(Döderlein 1874)
+ 
+ In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant divine power, will or plan, divinity.^(Stelten 1995) British Medieval Latin used it for divine will or sanction.^(DMLBS) It was borrowed into Italian ''nume'', and [[en|numen]] is recorded from the 1620s, and [[en|numinous]] from the 1640s.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it of divine power.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of a nod.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a god.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 1620s – English ''numen'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A [[m|en|nod]].^(OLD 2012)
+ # Divine power; the divine will.^(OLD 2012)
+ # Divinity, godhead.^(OLD 2012)
+ # A divine presence.^(OLD 2012)
+ # A [[m|en|deity]].^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[nūtō]]
+ * [[nūtus]]
+ * [[en|numen]]
+ * [[en|numinous]]
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ Döderlein distinguishes it from [[deus]] and [[dīvus]].^(Döderlein 1874)
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}