The adjective νοθος (nothos) denotes slave-born, illegitimate or spurious offspring or artistic productions (such as plagiarized writings). Our adjective shows up all over the classics (even in Latin, as nothus) and is most notably used to describe a bastard child, or a child from a citizen father and a foreign mother.

It frequently occurs juxtaposed with the noun υιος (huios), which is the common word for son, but in the legitimate sense: an accepted son, a son by rank and status not mere biology. As such it appears in its only Biblical occurrence, namely in Hebrews 12:8, where Paul declares that an undisciplined person is a νοθος (nothos) and not a υιος (huios).

Where our word comes from isn't wholly clear, but the Latin noun notia denotes a kind of gem that was said to fall from the sky along with rain. The Greek word νοτια (notia) indeed means damp or moisture, and the adjective νοτιος (notios) means moist or damp or "bringing rain". This is remarkable because the Greek word for actual rain is υω (huo), and is not unlike the noun υιος (huios), for son.

Also see our article on the noun ορφανος (orphanos), orphan.

The adjective νωθρος (nothros) means sluggish, slow or heavy (in the sense of a heavy sleep). In the classics, this word mostly describes the mental state of the slow minded, or their comfortable lack of any sense of urgency. This word is formed from the familiar adjectival suffix "-ros" (meaning: prone to be such-and-such), and the adjective νωθης (nothes), slow or stupid. The origin of this latter word isn't entirely clear but is suggested to come from the particle of negation νη (ne), and the verb οθομαι (othomai), to regard or heed, which occurs only in the Iliad and only negated. In the New Testament, our adjective νωθρος (nothros), slow or sluggish (or not very attentive) occurs in Hebrews 5:11 and 6:12 only.

The noun νωτος (notos) refers to the back of men or animals or even pages or mountains: the unobserved or ignored side, the side that is kept hidden from sight (Romans 11:10 only). It's formally unclear where this word comes from but it appears to relate to the Latin natis, meaning rump or buttock(s).

The three words on this page are of unclear origin, so it's safe to say that we don't know whether they formally relate. Informally, however, we may expect some subliminal association between a person's aft-end and any illegitimate offspring: both are covered, hidden or otherwise turned away from public purview and remain unmentioned in polite conversation. Quite notably, in this respect, is the name Seth, which means Buttock(s),and which was the name of the third son of Adam and Eve, through whom the human race was preserved. Also note that the human ape was so very successful on the open range of the savannahs because of their amazing buttocks: humans are long distance runners and can outrun almost any prey given enough time. It's quite possible that our nerdy ancestors left the forest because they were driven out by their mighty gorilla oppressors. If so, then they were saved by their buttocks long before their brains began to set them apart from animal kind (Psalm 73:22, Ecclesiastes 3:18, 2 Peter 2:12, Jude 1:10).