*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Nu

Borrowed from Egyptian nnw (“Nu, the primeval waters”).

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

The god who serves as the personification of the primeval waters that existed before the world.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Egyptian nnw (“Nu, the primeval waters”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "egy:nnw<t:Nu, the primeval waters>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"Nu, the primeval waters\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Egyptian\", \"term\" : \"nnw\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"egy\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"Nu\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"Nu\">\nBorrowed from Egyptian nnw (“Nu, the primeval waters”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "egy:nnw<t:Nu, the primeval waters>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Egyptian nnw (“Nu, the primeval waters”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "nnw",
      "nnw#Egyptian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "The god who serves as the personification of the primeval waters that existed before the world."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Egyptian"
      ],
      "recordId": "a3c879e59c5ee37981679ec3fd8a1217d9f83ef5a7a724ec049d87a749e400ca",
      "rawRecordSha256": "118c89079372b4d28253c064cd42d4b8723711891a084f398280f4f26b0b2131",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 330573
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
name

Abbreviation of Numbers (a book in the Old Testament of the Bible). · Alternative spelling of NU, Nunavut

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Abbreviations.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "Abbreviation of Numbers (a book in the Old Testament of the Bible).",
        "Alternative spelling of NU, Nunavut"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "de4b701ca42eb0a20e40c14397c41db55a7bf90723735724dc1029ab57e9e0ff",
      "rawRecordSha256": "2fad590e8eb757986fefdbacbb13527cc37cf2ce9574e58977c0ec7a7170e290",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 330575
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Nu →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-TnU