naŭ (Esperanto)

Where does "naŭ" come from?

The Esperanto word 'naŭ' serves as a simplified, universal successor to a long lineage of words for the number nine. It draws its roots from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥, which evolved into diverse forms such as the Latin 'novem', German 'neun', and English 'nine'. By blending these widely recognized linguistic cousins, Esperanto created a direct and intuitive term for the quantity.

Full etymology tree

• naŭ (Esperanto), 'nine (9)'
  • inherited novem (Latin), 'nine; 9'
    • inherited *nowən (Proto-Italic), 'nine'
      • inherited *h₁néwn̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'nine'
  • inherited neun (German), 'nine (numerical value represented by the Arabic numeral 9; or this many dots: •••••••••)'
    • inherited niun (Old High German), 'nine'
      • inherited *neun (Proto-West Germanic), 'nine'
        • inherited *newun (Proto-Germanic), 'nine'
          • inherited *h₁néwn̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'nine'
  • inherited nine (English), 'A numerical value equal to 9; the number following eight and preceding ten.'
    • inherited nyne (Middle English), 'nine'
      • inherited nigon (Old English), 'nine'
        • inherited *neun (Proto-West Germanic), 'nine'
          • inherited *newun (Proto-Germanic), 'nine'
            • inherited *h₁néwn̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'nine'

Ancestors

• novem (Latin)
• neun (German)
• nine (English)

Descendants and derived words

• naŭa (Esperanto)
• naŭo (Esperanto)

Updated July 2026

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