| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
| |
Appendix I
Indo-European Roots |
| |
| ENTRY: | nem- |
| DEFINITION: | To assign, allot; also to take.
Derivatives include numb, nemesis, and nomad.
1a. nim1, numb; benumb, from Old English niman, to take, seize; b. nimble, from Old English n mel, quick to seize, and numol, quick at learning, seizing; c. nim2, from Old High German nëman, to take. a–c all from Germanic *nem-. 2. nemesis; economy, from Greek nemein, to allot. 3. O-grade form *nom-. a. lumma, nome, –nomy; anomie, antinomian, antinomy, astronomer, astronomy, autonomous, Deuteronomy, metronome, nomograph, nomology, nomothetic, numismatic, from Greek nomos, portion, usage, custom, law, division, district; b. noma, from Greek nom , pasturage, grazing, hence a spreading, a spreading ulcer; c. nomad, from Greek nomas, wandering in search of pasture; d. nummular, nummulite, from Greek nomimos, legal. 4. Perhaps suffixed o-grade form *nom-eso-. number, numeral; enumerate, innumerable, supernumerary, from Latin numerus, number, division. (Pokorny 1. nem- 763.) |
| |
| |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
