You searched for: “normal
normal (adjective), more normal, most normal
1. Pertaining to conforming to or consisting of a pattern, process, or standard regarded as usual or typical; regular; natural: Periodic rains are a normal weather condition at this time of year.
2. Physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy; the standard of performance in a given function or test, usually taken from the average or median achievement for the group concerned: The normal development of children includes phases of rapid physical growth as well as topsy turvy emotional adjustments as each individual seeks to understand his or her feelings.
3. Maintained or occurring in a natural status: High winds and sandstorms are normal occurrences on vast desert expanses.
4. In mathematics, descriptive of a line, or plane, that is perpendicular to another line or plane: The architect used a T-square to draw a normal line perpendicular to the cobblestones drawn on the plans to indicate where the gate in the garden should be located.
5. Etymology: from Late Latin normalis, "according to rule"; from Latin, "according to a square, forming a right angle"; from norma, "carpenter's square, pattern, rule"; believed to be from Greek gnomona, accusative of gnomon, "interpreter, discerner, pointer on a sundial, carpenter's square" + -alis, "-al"; a suffix that forms adjectives.

The etymological background of the term, normal

The basic sense of the noun "norm" is "an authoritative standard or model". This is derived from the Latin "norma" which means "rule or pattern" as well as "a carpenter's square", because a square provides a standard or rule which ensures that a carpenter can regularly reproduce corners and edges which are straight and that form right angles.

  • The Latin adjective "normalis", formed from "norma", originally meant "forming a right angle" or "according to a square", and it is from this Latin sense that we get the earliest attested (established as genuine) sense of normal in English, which was "perpendicular".
  • Latin "normalis", was also used in more extended senses, and by the Late Latin period, its usual meaning was "according to rule" and so it was that most of the meanings of the English word, normal, have been derived from this Late Latin usage.
  • The Latin "norma", "carpenter's square", is thought by some linguists to be derived from Greek "gnomon", which also means "carpenter's square".
  • Additional senses are "the pointer on a sundial", "interpreter", and "discerner".
  • All of these meanings reflect in varying degrees the origin of the word in the verb "gignoskein", "to know".
  • "Gnomon" was borrowed into English directly from Greek and is still used to mean "the style of a sundial" as well as other senses derived from or related to this.
—A compilation of information gleaned from
Webster's Word Histories; Merriam-Webster, Inc., Publishers;
Springfield, Massachusetts; 1989; pages 321-322.
This entry is located in the following unit: norm-, normo- (page 1)
normal, everyday
This entry is located in the following unit: Pleonasms or Tautological Redundancies (page 15)
More possibly related word entries
A unit related to: “normal
(Greek: good, well, normal; happy, pleasing; used as a prefix)
(Greek: different, other, another; divergence; a combining form denoting a condition differing from the normal or a reversal, or referring to "another")
(Latin > French: the ability to see things that are out of normal sight but which can be perceived by extrasensory powers)
(Greek: above, over; excessive; more than normal; abnormal excess [in medicine]; abnormally great or powerful sensation [in physical or pathological terms]; highest [in chemical compounds])
(a normal behavior when induced in most “normal people” under suitable conditions)
Word Entries containing the term: “normal
geological erosion, geologic erosion; normal erosion
Erosion which is caused by prevailing agencies of the natural environment; including, running water, rain, wind, waves, and organic weathering.

Such erosion is primarily responsible for the present modifications of the land surfaces.

normal distribution (s) (noun), normal distributions (pl)
The frequency of occurrence of a given series of data for each change in an independent variable; usually represented by a bell-shaped curve: The professor, Dr. Dean, used the concept of normal distribution when calculating the grades for her students.

When compared to students in other universities, the normal distribution of grades in English classes for Susan and the other students at the local university was favorable.

This entry is located in the following unit: norm-, normo- (page 1)
normal histology (s) (noun), normal histologies (pl)
The study of body tissues and cells using microscopic techniques: As an undergraduate science student, Karin enjoyed her classes in normal histology and decided to pursue a medical degree.

The evolution of electronic microscopes enabled scientists of normal histology to better understand and compare healthy tissues and diseased tissues.

This entry is located in the following units: histo-, hist-, histi- + (page 6) norm-, normo- (page 1) -ology, -logy, -ologist, -logist (page 49)
normal school (s) (noun), normal schools (pl)
1. An educational institution that serves as a standard for teachers who are instructed in the principles of their profession and who have an opportunity to practice their skills: Allen was attending a local university which is considered a qualified normal school that features superior training programs for those in the teaching profession.
2. Etymology: a "normal school" came from French ecole normale and is derived from the fact that the first school was intended to serve as a standard, or model, to be used by other schools for training teachers.
This entry is located in the following unit: norm-, normo- (page 1)
(reversible English words that can be spelled forward and backward and still produce normal words with different meanings)
Word Entries at Get Words containing the term: “normal
normal histology (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of healthy tissues and cells: Judy learned that normal histology pertained to strong and active cells and tissues that were examined by using microscopic techniques.
This entry is located in the following unit: Anatomy and Related Anatomical Terms (page 5)
normal operating cell temperature; NOCT
The estimated temperature of a photovoltaic module when operating under 800 watts per square meter irradiance, 20 degrees Celsius ambient temperature and wind speed of one meter per second.

NOCT is used to estimate the nominal operating temperature of a module in its working environment.

This entry is located in the following unit: Photovoltaic Conversion Efficiency Terms + (page 14)