Where does “Nijmegen” come from?
Nijmegen (Dutch) comes from Middle Dutch Nieumeghen, from Latin Noviomagus, from Proto-Celtic magos, from Proto-Indo-European meǵh₂- — big, great; great; big, stour, great.
Ancestry of “Nijmegen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle Dutch | Nieumeghen | — |
| 2 | Latin | Noviomagus | One of a number of place names throughout the Roman empire. Although most of these places had longer names, the name Noviomagus was often used as a shorthand |
| 3 | Proto-Celtic | magos | plain, field |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | meǵh₂- | big, great; great; big, stour, great |