English

Noun

nodus ‎(plural nodi)

1. A difficulty.
2. (zoology) In the Odonata, a prominent crossvein near the centre of the leading edge of a wing.

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *gned-, *gnod- ‎(“to bind”). Cognate with necto ‎(“I bind”), Ancient Greek γνάθος ‎(gnáthos, “a jaw”), Avestan 𐬥𐬀𐬯𐬐𐬀 ‎(naska-, “bundle”), Old Irish nascim ‎(“to bind”), Old Norse knútr (whence German knude, Norwegian knut, and Icelandic hnútur), Old English cnotta (Modern English knot), Old English cnyttan (Modern English knit), Old High German knotto (German Knoten), Middle Dutch cnudde (Dutch knot).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈnoː.dus/, [ˈnoː.dʊs]

Noun

nōdus m ‎(genitive nodī); second declension

1. a knot (in rope)
2. a knot (in wood)
3. a knob
4. a bond
5. an obligation
6. a sticking point
7. (in the plural) a knotted fishing net

Inflection

Second declension.

See also

• nexus

Synonyms

• (knot): nōdāmen

Related terms

Derived terms

• nōdus Herculis, nōdus Herculāneus ‎(“a knot difficult to untie”)
• nōdum in scirpō querō ‎(“to look for knots in a bulrush which contains none; to find difficulties where there are none”)
• nōdus linguae ‎(“the bond or tie of the tongue”)

  Nōdum linguae rumpere.

  To break the bond of the tongue.

Descendants

References

• nodus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• nodus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• NODUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “nodus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• nodus in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin