nu
English
← mu |
→ xi | |
Wikipedia article on nu |
Etymology 1
From Ancient Greek νῦ (nû), name for the letter of the Greek alphabet Ν (N) and ν (n).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /njuː/
- (General American) IPA(key): /nu/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -uː
Noun
nu (countable and uncountable, plural nus)
- The letter of the Greek alphabet Ν (N) and ν (n).
- A measure of constringence in lenses or prisms.
Derived terms
Translations
|
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /nu/
Interjection
nu
- (Jewish) An exclamation of surprise, emphasis, doubt, etc.
- (Jewish) Well? (Used as a question to demand an answer from someone reluctant to answer.)
Etymology 3
Phonetic respelling of new.
Ainu
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Verb
nu (Kana spelling ヌ)
Derived terms
- inu (“to listen”)
Aiwoo
References
- Ross, M. & Næss, Å. (2007) “An Oceanic origin for Äiwoo, the language of the Reef Islands?”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 46, number 2. Cited in: "Äiwoo" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271–283.
Ajië
Albanian
Etymology
From Proto-Albanian *nu, from Proto-Indo-European *nu (“now”). Related to ni. Compare Ancient Greek νῦν (nûn), Old High German nu (“now”).[1]
Related terms
References
- Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “nu”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 301
Alemannic German
Etymology 1
From Middle High German nūn, from Middle High German niuwan, variant of niuwar, from Old High German niwāri. Cognate with German nur.
Etymology 2
From Middle High German nu, from Old High German nu. Cognate with German nun.
Alternative forms
Etymology 3
Historical or dialectal variants.
Aromanian
Blagar
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
References
- W. A. L. Stokhof, Preliminary notes on the Alor and Pantar languages (East Indonesia) (1975)
- Internet Archive, The Rosetta Project, Blagar Swadesh List
Catalan
Etymology
Inherited from Latin nūdus, from Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós.
Dalmatian
Related terms
Danish
Etymology
From Old Norse nú (“now”), from Proto-Germanic *nu (“now”), from Proto-Indo-European *nu (“now”). Cognate with English now.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/, [nu]
Noun
nu n (singular definite nuet, not used in plural form)
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ny/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -y
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch nu, from Old Dutch nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu.
Adverb
nu
- now, at the present moment
- Kom je nu of morgen?
- Will you be coming now or tomorrow?
- now, this time (indicating a certain amount of impatience)
- Wat is er nu weer dan?
- What is it now?
Etymology 2
From Ancient Greek νῦ (nû). Doublet of noen.
Further reading
- nu on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia nl
Elfdalian
Esperanto
Etymology
From Russian ну (nu) and German nu, of Slavic origin. Compare Polish no, Latvian nu, Czech no.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [nu]
- Audio:
(file) - Hyphenation: nu
Interjection
nu
- well (filled pause, particularly at the beginning of a response to a question)
- Nu, li diris, ke li ne volas ĉeesti la feston.
- Well, he said he doesn't want to attend the party.
Ewe
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ny/
audio (file)
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old French nu, from Latin nūdus, from Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós.
Derived terms
- à main nue / à mains nues
- à l’œil nu
- à poings nus
- cul nu
- demi-nu
- mettre à nu
- nu comme un ver
- pieds nus
- torse nu
- vérité toute nue
Etymology 2
From Ancient Greek νῦ (nû).
Further reading
- “nu”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Anagrams
Galician
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese nuu, from Latin nūdus, from Proto-Indo-European *nogʷós. Cognate with Portuguese nu.
Related terms
German
Etymology 1
From Middle High German nu, nuo. The form without a final -n remained common in some dialects and was reinforced by German Low German nu, from Middle Low German nû.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nuː/
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From a Slavic dialect, probably Sorbian. Compare Czech ano (“yes”), Polish no (“yeah; well”), Russian ну (nu, “yeah; well”). In the sense of a filled pause touching on etymology 1 above.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [nɵ]
Gothic
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈnu/
- Rhymes: -u
- Hyphenation: nù
Kabuverdianu
Etymology
From Portuguese nós.
References
- Gonçalves, Manuel (2015) Capeverdean Creole-English dictionary, →ISBN
Kosraean
Etymology
From Proto-Oceanic, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ñiuʀ. Compare Pohnpeian nih, Fijian niu, Tongan niu, Hawaiian niu.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Lashi
Etymology 1
From Proto-Lolo-Burmese [Term?], from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ŋwa. Cognates include Burmese နွား (nwa:) and Chinese 牛 (niú).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nuː˧/, [nũː˧]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu˧/
Latvian
Mandarin
Romanization
nu
Usage notes
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Mauritian Creole
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch nu, from Proto-Germanic *nu.
Adverb
nu
Further reading
- “nu”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “nu (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I
Middle English
Neapolitan
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Northern Sami
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- (Kautokeino) IPA(key): /ˈnuː/
Norwegian Bokmål
References
- “nu” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
References
- “nu” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Old Dutch
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *nu.
Further reading
- “nū (I)”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012
Old English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nuː/
Adverb
nū
- now
- Iċ eom nū on þǣre cyċenan.
- I'm in the kitchen right now.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "On the Passion of the Apostles Peter and Paul"
- Nerō cwæþ, "Hwæt is nū, Simōn? Iċ wēne wit sind oferswīðde."
- Nero said, "What is it now, Simon? I think we've been defeated."
- just (in the sense "recently")
- Iċ wæs nū on þǣre cyċenan.
- I was just in the kitchen.
- since
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
- Nū ðū þæt swā openlīce onġiten hæfst, ne þearfe ic nū nauht swīþe ymbe þ swincan þæt ic þē mā be gode recce.
- Since thou hast so clearly understood this, I need not now greatly labour in order that I may instruct thee further concerning good;...
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
- Þȳ iċ wundriġe hwȳ þū ne mæġe onġietan þæt þū eart nū ġīet swīðe ġesǣliġ, nū þū ġīet leofast and eart hāl.
- So I wonder why you can't understand that you're still very lucky, since you're still alive and healthy.
- late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Seven Sleepers"
- Nu ge þam mærum godum offrian nellað, ne beo ge me næfre heonon-forð swa wurðe ne swa leofe swa ge ær wæron...
- Since ye will not offer to the great gods, ye shall never henceforth be to me so worthy nor so dear as ye were before;...
- late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
Old French
Pará Arára
Alternative forms
References
- 2010, Isaac Costa de Souza, A Phonological Description of “Pet Talk” in Arara (MA), SIL Brazil, page 42.
Phalura
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Pronoun
nu (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نوۡ)
- it
- he
- this one (prox masc nom)
References
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Determiner
nu (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نوۡ)
- this (agr: prox nom masc)
Plautdietsch
Polish
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -u
- Syllabification: nu
See also
Further reading
- nu in Polish dictionaries at PWN
- M. Arcta Słownik ilustrowany języka polskiego/Nu! on the Polish Wikisource.Wikisource pl
Portuguese
Etymology
Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese nuu, from Latin nūdum. Compare Galician nu, Italian nudo, French nu.
Derived terms
- desnuar
- nu-proprietário
- nuamente
- nuidade
- pôr a nu
Romanian
Alternative forms
- ну (nu) — post-1930s Cyrillic spelling
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -u
Audio (file)
Usage notes
Romanian features the double negative. Nu is stressed within a normal sentence, but in a double negative construction is left unstressed in favour of the other negative component.
In speech—even in moderately formal contexts—nu is elided before verbs beginning with a, most notably the past perfect auxiliary avea.
Likewise, nu triggers prodelision before words (of any part of speech) beginning with î. Elision and prodelision are orthographically marked with a hyphen where no line break may occur.
In these cases, the syllable following the n of nu takes the sentence stress, which is stronger than the primary stress of the negated word.
Antonyms
References
- nu in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)
Saterland Frisian
Sicilian
Usage notes
Nu is used only before words beginning with the letter z or s and a consonant, like the Italian uno
South Slavey
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [nù(ʔ)]
- Hyphenation: nu
Inflection
singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|
1st person | senué | naxenué | |
2nd person | nenué | ||
3rd person | 1) | — | ginué |
2) | menué | gonué | |
4th person | yenué | ||
reflexive | sp. | ɂedenué | kedenué |
unsp. | denué | ||
reciprocal | — | ɂełenué | |
indefinite | ɂenué | ||
areal | gonué | ||
1) Used when the subject is a group of human beings and the object is singular. 2) Used when the previous condition does not apply. |
References
- Keren Rice (1989) A Grammar of Slave, Berlin, West Germany: Mouton de Gruyter, →ISBN, page 11
Sumerian
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Norse nú, from Proto-Germanic *nu.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nʉː/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -ʉː
References
Tày
Etymology
From Proto-Tai *ʰnuːᴬ. Cognate with Thai หนู (nǔu), Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᨶᩪ, Lao ໜູ (nū), Tai Dam ꪘꪴ, Lü ᦐᦴ (ṅuu), Shan ၼူ (nǔu), Zhuang nou, Saek หนู่.
Pronunciation
- (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA(key): [nu˧˧]
- (Trùng Khánh) IPA(key): [nu˦˥]
References
Tetum
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *niuʀ.
Further reading
- Fransiskus Monteiro (1985) Kamus Tetun-Indonesia [Tetum-Indonesian Dictionary] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa, Departemen Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan
Tooro
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Declension
Noun class | non-copulative | copulative | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | singular | plural | |
1/2 | onu | banu | ngunu | mbanu |
3/4 | gunu | enu | ngunu | nginu |
5/6 | linu | ganu | ndinu | nganu |
7/8 | kinu | binu | nkinu | mbinu |
9/10 | enu | zinu | nginu | nzinu |
11/10 | runu | ndunu | ||
12/14 | kanu | bunu | nkanu | mbunu |
13 | tunu | ntunu | ||
14/6 | bunu | ganu | mbunu | nganu |
15/6 | kunu | nkunu | ||
16 | hanu | mpanu | ||
17 | kunu | |||
18 | munu |
Derived terms
- leero nu (“now, today”)
See also
- -li (“that (distal demonstrative determiner)”)
Wauja
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu/
Pronoun
nu
- me (first-person singular indirect object pronoun)
- Pinyanka nu! Katsa umawiu? Nama!
- Tell me! What did [he] say? Come on!
- Puputatain nu kuapi.
- Give me a little [bit of] cotton thread.
- Pinyanka nu! Katsa umawiu? Nama!
Related terms
- natu (I,me, my, mine)
References
- E. Ireland field notes. Needs to be checked by a native speaker.
Wolof
Zou
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nu˧/
References
- Lukram Himmat Singh (2013) A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page 45