481: naked versus nude Apr 2, 2016

Naked is derived from the Old English word 'nacod' and has Germanic ties to the related modern word 'naakt' from Dutch and 'nackt' from German. These words come from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit with the word 'nagna' and Latin's 'nudus'. 'Nude' which also comes from an Indo-European root (originating from 'nudus') is understandably similar in meaning to 'naked'. Nevertheless, the original, Middle English meaning was ‘plain, explicit’, and only gained the modern sense in the 18th century.