noli me tangere

The story

1. Latin · derived fromnōlī“do not”
2. Late Latin · derived fromnōlī mē tangere
3. Middle English · inherited fromnoli me tangere
4. English todaynoli me tangere

PIE word *né PIE word *éǵh₂ From Middle English noli me tangere, noly me tangere (“skin disease of the face; bad-tempered person who should be avoided; personification of wrath”), a learned borrowing from Late Latin nōlī mē tangere (literally “do not touch me”), from Latin nōlī (“do not”) + mē (“me, myself”) + tangere (the present active infinitive of tangō (“to grasp; to touch”)). The phrase is recorded in John 20:17 of the Vulgate, a 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible, as having been spoken to Mary Magdalene by Jesus shortly after his resurrection outside his tomb. The original phrase was the Koine Greek μή μου ἅπτου (mḗ mou háptou, “stop clinging to me”). Senses 2–5 refer to the literal meaning of the phrase. For example, in the case of sense 4 (“any of various plants with fruits or seed capsules that, when ripe, burst open and discharge their seeds when touched, or with leaves that fold and droop when touched”), the name alludes to the assumption that the plants do not wish to be touched, and react by exploding their fruits or closing their leaves if this happens.

Words from the same roots