neteIn Ancient Greek musical theory, the highest-pitched fixed note in the farther tetrachord on a lyre, always pitched a perfect fourth above the paramese, with two movable notes between them, the trite (lower in pitch) and the paranete (higher in pitch). The paramese was higher-pitched than the mese (the highest-pitched fixed note in the nearer tetrachord on a lyre) by a ratio of 9:8.
nigredoA process of putrefaction or decomposition, one of the four major stages of the alchemical magnum opus.
NigritiaSynonym of Negroland, a vague region inland from the Guinea coast, Sub-Saharan Africa or Black Africa generally.
nihil obstatA declaration of no objection; (specifically) a declaration used by the Catholic Church to indicate a book, initiative, or appointment to an office has been found to not breach religious or moral norms.
NisibisSynonym of Nusaybin, a city in southeastern Turkey.
nisi priusIn the 19th century, those legal actions tried before judges of the King's Bench Division, and in the early 20th century those actions tried at assize by a judge given a commission.
nobile officiumThe equitable jurisdiction of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.
nobilissimusA senior title of nobility conferred on members of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families.
noceboA substance which a patient experiences as harmful due to a previous negative perception, but which is in fact pharmacologically (medicinally) inactive.
nolle prosequiA declaration from the attorney general ending a criminal prosecution.
nomen gentiliciumThe name designating a Roman citizen as a member of a particular gens; a gentile name.
nomen rectumThe second of the two nouns in status constructus, which occurs in its phonetically full form or status absolutus.
nomen regensThe first of the two nouns in status constructus, which occurs in a phonetically abbreviated state. For example, in Hebrew, the word "queen" standing alone is malka מלכה. When the word is possessed, as in "Queen of Sheba" (literally "Sheba's Queen"), it becomes malkat šəba מלכת שבא, in which malkat is the construct state (possessed) form and malka is the absolute (unpossessed) form. Thus, the possessed noun in the construct state (Queen) is the nomen regens (governing noun), and the possessor noun, often in the genitive case (Sheba's), is the nomen rectum (governed noun).
nomen sacrumAn abbreviation of a commonly-occurring holy name or title in early Christian manuscripts, consisting of at least two letters from the full spelling spanned by an overline.
nomen translatumA valid taxon name derived from a change in taxonomic rank to a previously published name.
nuculeA section of a compound fruit; a nutlet; a small nut.
nuda scripturaThe evangelical view that scripture is the only rule of faith, to the exclusion of all other sources.
nudiustertianOf or relating to the day before yesterday; very recent.
nulla bonaNo goods; used to indicate that a search has found no seizable property.
nulliparaA woman who has never carried a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks (one who has never given birth). It includes women who have experienced spontaneous miscarriages and induced abortions before the mid-point of pregnancy, but not women who have experienced pregnancy loss after 20 weeks.
NumantineOf or relating to the ancient Celtiberian city of Numantia.
nux vomicaA strychnine tree (Strychnos nux-vomica), an evergreen tree found in southeastern Asia.
-o-A linking vowel inserted interconsonantally between two morphemes, to ease pronunciation, without contributing to the meaning. It frequently joins words or combining forms of Ancient Greek or Classical Latin origin in the classical compounds of New Latin and international scientific vocabulary, but it can also be used to join modern terms and even abbreviations, either formally or informally.
ob.Synonym of died, particularly used with historical dating.