{"id":4189,"date":"2025-11-01T14:36:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T14:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=4189"},"modified":"2025-11-01T14:36:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T14:36:30","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-nemesis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=4189","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Nemesis"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Nemesis\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-11-01T14:36:30+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M24S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the origins of the word nemesis.\n\n\n\nNemesis [\u02c8n\u025bm\u0259s\u026as] can mean:\n\n An enemy, especially an archenemy.\n A person or character who specifically brings about the downfall of another person or character, as a...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.6\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_379\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-4189-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=4189-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"nemesis.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the origins of the word <strong>nemesis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/isriya\/2699522594\/in\/photolist-57xL21-5kTiTk-9VjSMU-mfh7Y-atR26X-qh2BXM-2i79Pva-mfh7X-257PLD6-2ndfCei-57xLJW-5mSzSQ-9V1xFs-7f3Yug-7yCxN-5Pj5gQ-2uSFK-2rydajh-2psZcMs-Tos6kN-2peQm9D-5fegNj-9UXGkP-6X3adc-4TNqcP-9UXGNc-36Lzq-2mGiJP3-6nVJHS-MePxnt-2mgQc5U-D7sk66-2qFRdBy-9UXHHz-M4WQ8q-eVWbVf-2uSFJ-AYTQp-2ovPdDp-F72NvM-QR5uYq-2pbNxCb-2mGfiW5-2gZB5sh-2my3s49-k22YyA-2rmprUa-9yYrgh-2qiwrqL-nj8bS7\" title=\"Nemesis\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/3090\/2699522594_1a22e256bf_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Nemesis\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Nemesis<\/strong> [\u02c8n\u025bm\u0259s\u026as] can mean:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An enemy, especially an archenemy.<\/li>\n<li>A person or character who specifically brings about the downfall of another person or character, as an agent of that character&#8217;s fate or destiny, especially within a narrative.<\/li>\n<li>The personification of the &#8220;fatal flaw&#8221; of a dramatic hero in the style of Greek tragedy.<br \/>\n <em>Other meanings are available<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It comes from <em>\u039d\u03ad\u03bc\u03b5\u03c3\u1fd0\u03c2<\/em> (N\u00e9mes\u012ds &#8211; the Greek goddess of retribution), from Ancient Greek <em>\u03bd\u03ad\u03bc\u03b5\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2<\/em> (n\u00e9mesis &#8211; distribution of what is due, righteous assignment of anger, wrath at anything unjust), from <em>\u03bd\u03ad\u03bc\u03c9<\/em> (n\u00e9m\u014d &#8211; to deal out, distribute, dispense, count, hold, possess, pasture flocks), from Proto-Hellenic <em>*n\u00e9m\u014d<\/em> from Proto-Indo-European <em>*nem(h\u2081)-<\/em> (to distribute, give, take) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/nemesis#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same roots include <strong>\u0146emt<\/strong> (to take, seize) in Latvian, <strong>nehmen<\/strong> (to take, hold, grasp) in German, <strong>nimma<\/strong> (to understand) in Swedish, <strong>nimble<\/strong> and <strong>number<\/strong> in English, <strong>nimh<\/strong> (poison, venom) in Irish and possibly <strong>nant<\/strong> (stream, brook) in Welsh [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European\/nem-\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>The English word <strong>numb<\/strong> also comes from the same roots. It was originally the past participle of <em>nim<\/em> (to take, seize, steal &#8211; <em>obsolete \/ archaic<\/em>), which comes from Middle English <em>nimen<\/em> (to (under)take, draw, enter), from Old English <em>niman<\/em> (to take), from Proto-West Germanic <em>*neman<\/em> (to take), from Proto-Germanic <em>*neman\u0105<\/em> (to take), from PIE <em>*nem(h\u2081)-<\/em> (to distribute, give, take) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/numb#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>The word <em>nimps<\/em> (easy &#8211; <em>northern England<\/em>) also possibly comes from the same roots, as do <em>overnim<\/em> (to take away, rob) and <em>nimmer<\/em> (a petty thief) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/nim#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<!-- Blog horizontal --><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\n     style=\"display:block\"\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5001128073855040\"\n     data-ad-slot=\"1685480124\"\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Nemesis\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-11-01T14:36:30+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M24S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the origins of the word nemesis.\n\n\n\nNemesis [\u02c8n\u025bm\u0259s\u026as] can mean:\n\n An enemy, especially an archenemy.\n A person or character who specifically brings about the downfall of another person or character, as a...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.6\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_380\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-4189-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=4189-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/nemesis.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"nemesis.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology we investigate the origins of the word nemesis. Nemesis [\u02c8n\u025bm\u0259s\u026as] can mean: An enemy, especially an archenemy. A person or character who specifically brings about the downfall of another person or character, as an agent of that character&#8217;s fate or destiny, especially within a narrative. The personification of the &#8220;fatal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,97,20,56,24,6,4,114,58,11,55,1,57,120,59,119,30,7],"tags":[90,9,167,15,347,351,349,348,268,88,350,8,103],"class_list":["post-4189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-ancient-greek-","category-english","category-etymology","category-german","category-irish","category-language","category-latvian-latviesu-valoda","category-middle-english","category-music","category-old-english-aenglisc","category-podcast","category-proto-germanic","category-proto-hellenic","category-proto-indo-european","category-proto-west-germanic","category-swedish","category-welsh","tag-etymology","tag-language","tag-linguistics","tag-music","tag-nemesis","tag-nimmer","tag-nimps","tag-numb","tag-number","tag-omniglot","tag-overnim","tag-podcast","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4189"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4189\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4192,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4189\/revisions\/4192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}