Where does “nowhere” come from?
Nowhere derives from English no and where, with no tracing to Latin numero (ablative of numerus, "number") and ultimately Proto-Indo-European ne ("not").
nowhere (English): In no place; To no place; Unimportant; unworthy...
Definitions
- In no place; To no place; Unimportant; unworthy...
Ancestry of “nowhere”, step by step
nowhere traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English no
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | no | Not any; Hardly any; Not any possibility or... |
| 2 | Middle English | noo | — |
| 3 | Middle English | none | Alternative form of nonne; Alternative form of... |
| 4 | Old English | nōn | noon; the ninth hour; the ninth hour |
| 5 | Latin | nōna | nones canonical hour |
| 6 | Latin | nōnus | ninth |
| 7 | Latin | novenos | accusative masculine plural of novēnus |
| 8 | Latin | novem | nine; 9; first-person singular present active... |
| 9 | Latin | novo | I make new, renew, refresh; I alter, change;... |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | nowāō | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | néweh₂ti | to renew |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | néwos | new |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | new- | new; to nod, assent to |
via English where
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | where | While on the contrary; although; whereas; At or... |
| 2 | Middle English | wher | where |
| 3 | Old English | hwǣr | where |
| 4 | Old English | -a | Ending forming adverbs; nominative masculine... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -ō | Creates feminine nouns from roots and stems |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ô | -ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ō | Derives nouns from roots |