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Perspective
nomen est omen
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Latin
Etymology
The origin of this saying is attributed to the Roman playwright Plautus. In his play “Persa” the slave Toxilus lures his owner, Dordalus, to buy an expensive slave-girl named Lucris (“profits”), saying, “Nōmen atque ōmen quantīvīs iam est pretī” (“The name and the omen are worth any price”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈnoː.mɛn ˈɛst ˈoː.mɛn]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈnɔː.men ˈɛst̪ ˈɔː.men]
Proverb
- The name is a sign, the name speaks for itself.
Descendants
- → Finnish: nimi on enne (calque) (name is a sign)
- → Polish: nomen omen
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