node (English)

Where does "node" come from?

The English noun 'node' comes from Middle English 'node'[1][2], which was borrowed from Latin 'nōdus'[1][2] meaning a knot. The Latin term has an uncertain origin, with some theories linking it to Proto-Indo-European roots connected to binding or twisting[3]. Through this history, 'node' is a doublet of words like 'knot', 'knout', and 'nodus'.

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of Latin nodus is uncertain, with competing theories suggesting a possible foreign loanword or derivations from different Proto-Indo-European roots related to binding or twisting. [3]

Full etymology tree

• node (English), 'A knot, knob, protuberance or swelling.'
  • borrowed node (Middle English), 'lump, swelling'
    • borrowed nodus (Latin), 'a knot (in rope)'

Ancestors

• node (Middle English)
• nodus (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• knot (English)
• knout (English)
• nodus (English)

Descendants and derived words

• acnode (English)
• anti-node (English)
• antinode (English)
• ascending node (English)
• AV node (English)
• binode (English)
• child node (English)
• Cloquet's node (English)
• crunode (English)
• descending node (English)
• eigennode (English)
• end-node (English)

Sources

1. node (English) - Wiktionary
2. node (Middle English) - Wiktionary
3. nodus (Latin) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris