nominal

Etymology

From the Middle English nominalle (“of nouns”), borrowed from Latin nōminālis (“of names”), from nōmen (“name”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈnɒm.ɪnl̩/

Adjective

nominal (not comparable)

1. Of, resembling, relating to, or consisting of a name or names.
2. Assigned to or bearing a person's name.
3. Existing in name only.

   a nominal difference

   • (Can we date this quote?) Macaulay

     Nominal attendance on lectures.

   • 2013 October 5, Joel Kotkin, “California’s New Feudalism Benefits a Few at the Expense of the Multitude”, in The Daily Beast‎:

     In contrast to the traditionally conservative or libertarian ethos of the entrepreneurial class, the oligarchy is increasingly allied with the nominally populist Democratic Party and its regulatory agenda.

4. (philosophy) Of or relating to nominalism.
5. Insignificantly small; trifling.

   He gave me only a nominal sum for my services.

6. Of or relating to the presumed or approximate value, rather than the actual value.

   The nominal voltage is 1.5 V, but the actual figure is usually higher.

7. (finance) Of, relating to, or being the amount or face value of a sum of money or a stock certificate, for example, and not the purchasing power or market value.
8. (finance) Of, relating to, or being the rate of interest or return without adjustment for compounding or inflation.
9. (grammar) Of or relating to a noun or word group that functions as a noun.

   This sentence contains a nominal phrase.

10. (engineering) According to plan or design; normal.

    We'll just do a nominal flight check.

    Apart from the slightly high temperature, all the readings from the spacecraft are nominal.

11. (economics) Without adjustment to remove the effects of inflation; contrasted with real.

    My employer does not understand how low my nominal wage is.

    The nominal GNP of this country is pretty low.

    • 1991, Richard J. Gilbert, Regulatory Choices: A Perspective on Developments in Energy Policy, page 267,

      Comparisons of the costs of the Diablo Canyon plant with other nuclear power plants can be misleading because the available cost data are in nominal dollars and therefore include the toll of inflation over the construction periods.

    • 2001, Erich A. Helfert, Financial Analysis: Tools and Techniques: A Guide for Managers, page 467,

      This simple process allows us to convert nominal dollars into inflation-adjusted real dollars.

12. (statistics, of a variable) Having values whose order is insignificant.

Noun

nominal (plural nominals)

1. (grammar) A noun or word group that functions as a noun phrase.

   This sentence contains two nominals.

2. (grammar) A part of speech that shares features with nouns and adjectives.
3. A number (usually natural) used like a name; a numeric code or identifier (see also wikipedia).

   Numeric codes of characters used in programming are nominals.

Further reading

• nominal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• nominal in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Anagrams

• nonmail

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nominalis.

Adjective

nominal (masculine and feminine plural nominals)

1. nominal

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nominalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɔ.mi.nal/

Adjective

nominal (feminine singular nominale, masculine plural nominaux, feminine plural nominales)

1. nominal

Noun

nominal m (plural nominaux)

1. nominal

Related terms

• nom

Further reading

• “nominal” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nominalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nomiˈnaːl/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

nominal (not comparable)

1. nominal

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nominalis.

Adjective

nominal m, f (plural nominais, comparable)

1. nominal

Etymology

Borrowed from French nominal, Latin nominalis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nomiˈnal]

Adjective

nominal m, n (feminine singular nominală, masculine plural nominali, feminine and neuter plural nominale)

1. nominal

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin nominalis.

Adjective

nominal (plural nominales)

1. nominal