Advertisement

Origin and history of nominate

nominate(v.)

1540s, "to call or mention by name" (common in 17c., but now rare or obsolete), a back-formation from nomination or else from Latin nominatus, past participle of nominare "to name, call by name, give a name to," also "name for office," from nomen "name" (from PIE root *no-men- "name"). Later "to appoint or designate by name to some office or duty" (1560s); "to propose or formally enter (someone's name) as a candidate for election" (c. 1600). It also occasionally was used from c. 1600 with a sense "give a name to." Related: Nominated; nominating.

Entries linking to nominate

early 15c., nominacioun, "act of mentioning by name," from Latin nominationem (nominative nominatio) "a naming, designation," noun of action from past-participle stem of nominare "to name, call by name, give a name to," from nomen "name" (see name (n.)). Meaning "fact of being proposed as a candidate" is attested from late 15c.

mid-15c., in law, "an error in a name, mistaken identification of an accused or convicted person," from Anglo-French, Old French mesnomer "to misname, wrongly name," noun use of infinitive, from mes- "wrongly" (see mis- (2)) + nomer "to name," from Latin nominare "nominate" (see nominate). For noun use of French infinitives, see waiver. Meaning "act of applying a wrong name or designation" is from 1630s.

Advertisement

More to explore

Share nominate

Advertisement
Trending
Advertisement