numquam

Latin

Alternative forms

• nunquam
• numqua (Late Latin, proscribed)

Etymology

From ne + umquam.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈnum.kʷam/, [ˈnʊŋkʷä̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈnum.kwam/, [ˈnumkwäm]

Adverb

numquam (not comparable)

1. never, at no time
   • 86 CE – 103 CE, Martial, Epigrammata III.95:

     Numquam dicis have, sed reddis, Naevole, semper

     You never say "hey", but you always return the greeting, Naevolus

2. not at all, by no means

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “never”): semper

Derived terms

• nōnnumquam

Related terms

• num
• quam

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: ningã, ninga, nicã, nica, nincã, ninca
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Old French: nonque (St. Eulalia)
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Catalan: nunca
  • Old Occitan: nonca, noca
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: nunca
  • Asturian: nunca, ñunca
  • Mirandese: nunca
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: nunca
    • Galician: nunca
    • Portuguese: nunca
  • Old Spanish: nunqua, nunquas, nunca
    • Spanish: nunca
• Borrowings:
  • → Interlingua: nunquam

References

• “numquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “nŭmquam”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 7: N–Pas, page 241

Further reading

• “numquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• numquam in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2025), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• numquam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the memory of this will never fade from my mind: numquam ex animo meo memoria illius rei discedet