Where does “nonvolatile” come from?
I need to note that this etymological chain appears problematic and doesn't support a coherent etymology for "nonvolatile."
The chain mixes:
- "volatile" (from Latin volatilis, "flying")
- "nonus" (Latin for "ninth")
- "novem" (Latin for "nine")
- PIE roots that don't logically connect to "nonvolatile"
"Nonvolatile" is actually: non- (prefix meaning "not") + volatile (from Latin volatilis, from volare "to fly"). The chain provided doesn't match this word's actual composition.
I cannot write an accurate one-sentence summary using this chain because it doesn't etymologically support "nonvolatile." Could you verify the chain, or did you mean a different headword like "volatile" itself?
If you'd like me to write for "volatile" instead:
Volatile derives from
nonvolatile (English): Not volatile
Ancestry of “nonvolatile”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | non- | Used in the sense of no or none, to show lack of... |
| 2 | Latin | nōnus | — |
| 3 | Latin | novenos | accusative masculine plural of novēnus |
| 4 | Latin | novem | nine; 9; first-person singular present active... |
| 5 | Latin | novo | I make new, renew, refresh; I alter, change;... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | nowāō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | néweh₂ti | to renew |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | néwos | new |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | new- | new; to nod, assent to |