Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nomadism” come from?

Nomadism derives from English nomad plus the suffix -ism, from Ancient Greek νομάς, from the verb νέμω meaning to distribute or pasture, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European nem-.

nomadism (English): The way of life of a nomad

Definitions

  1. The way of life of a nomad

Ancestry of “nomadism”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishnomadA member of a society or class who herd animals...
2EnglishNorth—
3FrenchNord—
4Middle Frenchnord—
5Old Frenchnortnorth
6Old Englishnorþnorth
7Proto-Germanicnurþrąnorth, northern; north, northward
8Proto-Germanicnurþraznorth, northern
9Proto-Indo-European*nér—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *nér →