*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of nude

Entered English 1493 as a legal term, meaning "unsupported, not formally attested," from Middle English nud, from Latin nūdus (“naked, bare”).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
adj

Without clothing or other covering of the skin; without clothing on the genitals or female nipples. · Of a color (such as beige or tan) that evokes bare flesh. · Not valid; void.

noun

A painting, sculpture, photograph or other artwork or mass-media-reproduced image depicting one or more human figure(s) in a state of near or total undress. · The state of total nudity. · A color that resembles or evokes bare flesh; a paint, dye, etc. of such color.

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

Entered English 1493 as a legal term, meaning "unsupported, not formally attested," from Middle English nud, from Latin nūdus (“naked, bare”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Root classification mention*negʷ-ine-pro
  • Inherited-form mentionnudenm
  • Derivation mentionnūdusla
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*negʷ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "nud"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English nud"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "nūdus",
        "4": "",
        "5": "naked, bare"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin nūdus (“naked, bare”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "nud",
      "nud#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nūdus",
      "nudus#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Without clothing or other covering of the skin; without clothing on the genitals or female nipples.",
        "Of a color (such as beige or tan) that evokes bare flesh.",
        "Not valid; void."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable",
        "comparable",
        "usually",
        "archaic"
      ],
      "recordId": "5a083018588bcc6563fcdef449d02aeb504f512d18627c9ad0179d55592a97ce",
      "rawRecordSha256": "a54e82c07c655f466c5e5a1f34a2aa02824fbffea21be5ef7416ae3a8ae58c1d",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 161450
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A painting, sculpture, photograph or other artwork or mass-media-reproduced image depicting one or more human figure(s) in a state of near or total undress.",
        "The state of total nudity.",
        "A color that resembles or evokes bare flesh; a paint, dye, etc. of such color."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "8a3d5f5a6f1313e178d1863903ee025ae77cd5c7751347df931ba568a3af29d8",
      "rawRecordSha256": "de64397ac877cbd44a1473a823a6c20f8fb181460df5abbca2e8d37e111243d2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 161451
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 nude →

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-bnVkZQ