Vocabulum XVIII: Nobody is Nemo

But N is more than just null and none.

When my Latin students learn that their favorite little cartoon fish is named after the Latin word for nobody, nemo, they always are shocked. “That’s terrible!” “He’s not a nobody!” But then they immediately ask if there are other characters in stories have secret Latin names, and the fun begins. They feel they possess a secret language, which, of course, they do! (Welcome to Manuscribit, a Substack which teaches English through Latin. Start at the very beginning and work your way through with sketchbook in hand.) The letter “n” in the Latin dictionary can be a bit of a downer because we get all of our negative words beginning with non-, and we can get nullified as well. But there are some other very natural and nutritious words as well.

Narnia This is Latin for the ancient town of Narni, located about 50 miles from Rome. Author C.S. Lewis had a Latin map of the ancient world and liked this name.

narrare to tell narrate, narration, narrator

natalis of birth natal, native, Nativity

natare to swim natatorium

natura birth, character, physical order of the world nature, natural

nausea seasickness (related to nauta, below) nausea, nauseous

nauta sailor nautical

navigare, navis to sail, ship navy, navigate

nebula mist, cloud nebulous, nebulizer

nectere, nexus to tie or fasten, bound connect, connection, nexus

nefarius wicked, criminal nefarious

negare to say no negate, negative

negotium business negotiate, negotiation

nemo nobody Nemo

nihil nothing annihilate

nomen name or title name, nomenclature, nominate, denomination, pseudonym, noun

non not, no none, non- a prefix used to negate in English

notare, nota to note or stigmatize, to make a mark, marked In ancient Rome, a criminal was marked on his forehead with a black mark, typically with a brand, so that everyone was on “notice” regarding his past crimes. Sometimes lepers were also marked in this way. While we use “note” to indicate marks or writing, the Latin is most notably the root for “notorious” or “notoriety” for the reasons explained above.

novare, novus to make new, new novice, novitiate, renovate, nova

nox, noctia night nocturnal

nullus none, not at all null, nullify, annulment

nuntiare, nuntius to announce, messenger Annunciation, nuncio

nupta, nuptialis bride, wedding nuptial

nutricare to nourish or nurse nutritious, nutrients

There is history in every word in the dictionary, and it’s fascinating to learn. Latin is only one language that carries with it the history of an empire. Take some time to research your family’s “home” language to learn about the history of its words. While many are related to Latin’s huge Indo-European family, some are not, and it’s fascinating to see where various languages intersect.

In our next post, we will visit with the “O” words of Latin. Until then, may God’s peace be with you. (And since we’ve mentioned Narnia, St. Lucy’s Day is coming up on December 13. Here’s one way that the ancient Christian saint is still celebrated.)