Nux
/nʌks/noun
A nut, especially one referred to in botanical or pharmacological Latin terminology.
Did you know?Nux vomica seeds contain strychnine, a potent poison historically used in medicines, pesticides, and attempts at murder.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*nēwks
“A nut or fruit enclosed in a hard shell; the reconstructed ancestor of Latin nux and English nut.”
Proto-Italic
Proto-Italic
*nōks
“Nut; the inherited Italic form that developed into Latin nux.”
Classical Latin
Latin
nux
“Nut, particularly a hard-shelled fruit; its genitive form was nucis.”
Late Latin
Latin
nux vomica
““Vomiting nut,” the name given to the poisonous seed of the strychnine tree.”
17th Century
English
nux
“A learned botanical and pharmacological borrowing from Latin, chiefly appearing in compounds and scientific names.”
Modern English
English
nux
“A technical term for a nut or nut-like seed, most familiar in nux vomica.”