in nuce

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Latin

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Etymology

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From in +‎ nuce, the ablative singular of nux (nut): literally, in a nut. Derived from an anecdote in Pliny the Elder, who ascribes to Cicero the claim that the whole Iliad was once written on parchment and enclosed within a nutshell (Naturalis Historia 7.21.85).

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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in nuce (not comparable) (New Latin)

  1. in a nutshell; briefly stated
    • 1731, Jakob Wilde, Sueciæ Historia Pragmatica Quæ vulgò Jus Publicum dicitur [], page 5:
      [] adeoque sola eruendas ratione, in nuce, quod dicitur, aut velut in tabula depictas, simul exhibeam.
      [] let me present, at the same time, those things that are to be unearthed by reason alone, in a nutshell, as it is said, or as if depicted in an image.
  2. in the embryonic phase; said of something which is just developing or being developed