[ˈnuː.mɛn], [ˈnuː.men]
Origo* Could be simply an action noun of *nuō, for *nuimen, from *nuō + -men, thus meaning "a nodding with the head", "a nod", "command", "will" (as nūtus), with the particular meaning of "the divine will", "the will or power of the gods", "divine sway".
* Others suggest the Ancient Greek word νοούμενον (nooúmenon) ("an influence perceptible by mind but not by senses"), from νοέω (noéō), was borrowed into Early Latin as the word noumen, whose spelling changed to numen in Classical Latin.
- declension-3a nod of the head
- declension-3divine sway or will
“the immortal gods protect the roofs of the city with divine will and aid”
- declension-3divine power or right
“in prece tōtus eram: caelestia nūmina sēnsī,
laetaque purpureā lūce refulsit humus.
[As] I was rapt in prayer, I sensed [the presence of] heavenly powers, and the joyful ground gleamed with purple lig”
- declension-3divinity (Georges Dumézil argues this is a modern meaning and not one from the Classical period, where it was either attributed to particular gods or other entities, such as in numen Cereris or numen dei, or wrongly interpreted)
- broadly, declension-3fairy
Formaenūmen(canonical, neuter) · nūminis(genitive) · nūmen(nominative, singular) · nūmina(nominative, plural) · nūminis(genitive, singular) · nūminum(genitive, plural) · nūminī(dative, singular) · nūminibus(dative, plural) · nūmen(accusative, singular) · nūmina(accusative, plural) · nūmine(ablative, singular) · nūminibus(ablative, plural) · nūmen(singular, vocative) · nūmina(plural, vocative) · noumen(alternative, Old-Latin)
Fons: Vicitionarium