Nominate

How to spell nominate

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce nominate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does nominate mean?

1. verbTo formally propose or put forward a person for a position, award, or honour.

Nominate in a sentence

• The committee will nominate three candidates for the chairmanship.

• Members may nominate a colleague for the annual service award.

Where does nominate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb nominare, meaning 'to name' or 'to call by name', which was built directly on the noun nomen, the everyday Latin word for 'name'. English adopted it in the late 1500s, at first carrying the plain sense of naming or designating someone, and only later narrowing toward the modern political and ceremonial idea of formally putting a person forward for an office, a prize, or an honour. The same nomen root sits quietly inside a whole family of English relatives, including 'noun', 'nominal', 'denominator', and 'nomenclature', all of which trade on the notion of naming. Knowing that the heart of the word is the single root 'nomin' (one m, one n) is a useful guard against doubling either consonant. The final -ate is the familiar Latin verb ending that English borrowed wholesale to turn roots into action words.

How the word is built

• nomin- (from Latin nomen: name)
• -ate (verb-forming suffix)