Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “normal” come from?

Normal comes from Latin normalis, from the suffix Latin -alis added to Ancient Greek γνώμων, derived from Ancient Greek γιγνώσκω meaning "to know," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃-.

normal (English): According to norms or rules or to a regular...

Definitions

  1. According to norms or rules or to a regular...

Ancestry of “normal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinnormālis—
2Latinnōrma—
3Ancient Greekγνώμωνinterpreter, discerner; carpenter's square;...
4Ancient GreekγιγνώσκωI am aware of; I perceive, observe, know, learn;...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵn̥h₃sḱétito recognise
6Proto-Indo-Europeanǵneh₃-to know

Words derived from “normal”

  • normally
  • abnormal
  • normalization
  • abnormality
  • normality
  • abnormally
  • norepinephrine
  • normalize
  • normalcy
  • paranormal
  • lognormal
  • noradrenaline
  • supernormal
  • orthonormal
  • subnormal
  • levonorgestrel
  • renormalization
  • normalise
  • nonnormal
  • decinormal
  • denormalization
  • lognormally
  • supranormal
  • nonnormality
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- →