Added 9 October 2026
nominal
/ˈnɒm.ɪ.nl̩/ adjective
Latin root: nōmen Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about nominal at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Of, resembling, relating to, or consisting of a name or names.
- Assigned to or bearing a person's name.
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Existing in name only.
a nominal difference
noun
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A noun or word group that functions as part of a noun phrase.
This sentence contains two nominals.
- A part of speech that shares features with nouns and adjectives. (Depending on the language, it may comprise nouns, adjectives, possibly numerals, pronouns, and participles.)
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A number (usually natural) used like a name; a numeric code or identifier. (See nominal number on Wikipedia.)
Numeric codes of characters used in programming are nominals.
Origin
PIE word *h₁nómn̥ Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁nómn̥ Proto-Italic *nōmn̥ Latin nōmen Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin nōminālisder. Middle English nominalle English nominal From the Middle English nominalle (“of nouns”), borrowed from Latin nōminālis (“of names”), ultimately from oblique stem of Latin nōmen, nōminis (“name”) + -al.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)