nous

English

Alternative forms

• noos

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek νοῦς (noûs) or νόος (nóos, “mind”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: nous, IPA^(key): /naʊs/
• Rhymes: -aʊs

• (US) enPR: noo͞s, IPA^(key): /nuːs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

nous (uncountable)

1. (philosophy) The mind or intellect, reason, both rational and emotional
   • 1900, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, On the Disastrous Spread of Aestheticism in all Classes

     I feel the will to roam, to learn

     By test, experience, nous,

     That fire is hot and ocean deep,

     And wolves carnivorous.

2. In Neoplatonism, the divine reason, regarded as first divine emanation.
3. Common sense; practical intelligence.

Related terms

• paranoia
• noesis
• noology
• noosphere
• nootropic

Translations

reason in philosophy

• Dutch: nous (nl) n
• French: nous (fr) m

• German: Nous
• Swedish: nous (sv), förnuft (sv)

Anagrams

• UNOS, onus, ouns

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Catalan

Etymology 1

Adjective

nous

1. masculine plural of nou (new)

Etymology 2

Noun

nous

1. plural of nou (nines)

Etymology 3

Noun

nous

1. plural of nou (nuts)

Etymology 4

Verb

nous

1. second-person singular present indicative form of noure

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French

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /nu/
• Homophone: noue

Etymology 1

From Middle French nous, from Old French nous, nos, from Latin nōs, from Proto-Italic *nōs.

In several dialects of French, you may hear je instead of nous (j'allons instead of nous allons, je voyons instead of nous voyons etc.), this use was perceived as peasant-like and thus often mocked since the 15th century (for example by Molière). However this use survived and spread in various regions of the so-called domaine d'oïl (linguistic area starting above Auvergne where the oïl varieties of Romance developped from the 4th or 5th century). The regions of France where this use of je (from Latin ego "I") instead of nous, nos (from Latin nos, "we") was recorded are Normandy, Romance-speaking Brittany, Poitou and Anjou, Champagne, Ardennes, Bourgogne and Franche-Comté, Dauphiné, Berry, Touraine, Orléanais, Bourbonnais, Maine. See cognates in regional languages in France : Angevin je and nous, Bourbonnais-Berrichon je and nous, Bourguignon i and nous, Champenois ju and nous, Franc-Comtois i and nôs, Gallo je and nouz, Lorrain nos, Norman je and nos, Orléanais je and nous, Picard nos, Poitevin-Saintongeais jhe and nous, Tourangeau je and nous, Franco-Provençal nos, Occitan nosautres (Provençal nousautes), Catalan nosaltres, Corsican noi.

Pronoun

nous

1. The plural personal pronoun in the first person:
   1. (subject pronoun) we.
   2. (object pronoun) us, to us.

Related terms

French personal pronouns

Number	Person	Gender	Nominative (subject)	Reflexive	Accusative (direct complement)	Dative (indirect complement)	Locative (at)	Genitive (of)	Disjunctive (tonic)
Singular	First	—	je, j’	me, m’			—	—	moi
	Second	—	tu	te, t’			—	—	toi
	Third	Masculine	il	se, s’	le, l’	lui	y	en	lui
		Feminine	elle		la, l’				elle
		—	on		—	—	—	—	soi
Plural	First	—	nous	nous			—	—	nous
	Second	—	vous	vous			—	—	vous
	Third	Masculine	ils	se, s’	les	leur	y	en	eux
		Feminine	elles						elles

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek νοῦς (noûs) or νόος (nóos, “mind”).

Noun

nous m (plural nous)

1. The nous, (divine) reason in philosophy.

Further reading

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

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Middle French

Etymology

From Old French nous.

Pronoun

nous

1. we (subject pronoun)
2. ourselves (reflexive pronoun)

Descendants

• French: nous

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Old French

Etymology

From Latin nōs.

Pronoun

nous

1. Alternative form of nos

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Picard

Etymology

From Old French nous.

Pronoun

nous

1. we