What does NAY.MDCCC XXXIII and 08 MDCCC XCVI stand for>?

These are Roman numerals:

MDCCC = 1800
XXXIII = 33

MDCCC = 1800
XCVI = 96

So, "1833" and "1896".

Perhaps the years of his birth and death?


I don't know about the Nay and 08. Could the "08" be "OB"?

Isn't the Nobel Prize Swedish or Norwegian or something? Perhaps they are the words for "birth" and "death" in that language.

I have looked at Nobel´s medals and I think it says NAT, which I do not understand nor 08 or OB. Other wise the numbers stand for Nobel´s birthyear and death year.
Medals

The Nobel Prize medals are registered trademarks of the Nobel Foundation. Each medal features an image of Alfred Nobel in left profile on the obverse. The medals for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature have identical obverses, showing the image of Alfred Nobel and the years of his birth and death. Nobel's portrait also appears on the obverse of the Peace Prize medal and the medal for the Economics Prize, but with a slightly different design. For instance, the laureate's name is engraved on the rim of the Economics medal. The image on the reverse of a medal varies according to the institution awarding the prize. The reverse sides of the medals for chemistry and physics share the same design.

All medals made before 1980 were struck in 23 carat gold. Since then they have been struck in 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold. The weight of each medal varies with the value of gold, but averages about 175 grams (0.386 lb) for each medal. The diameter is 66 millimetres (2.6 in) and the thickness varies between 5.2 millimetres (0.20 in) and 2.4 millimetres (0.094 in).[89] Because of the high value of their gold content and tendency to be on public display, Nobel medals are subject to medal theft. During World War II, the medals of German scientists Max von Laue and James Franck were sent to Copenhagen for safekeeping. When Germany invaded Denmark, chemist George de Hevesy dissolved them in aqua regia, to prevent confiscation by Nazi Germany and to prevent legal problems for the holders. After the war, the gold was recovered from solution, and the medals re-cast.

"Nay" is probably a corruption of né which is the French, masculine singular past participle of naître, which means to be born (and is pronounced "nay"). So, if you were born in 1950, a newspaper article in English would (or is supposed to) write "né, 1950." For a woman, it would write: "née, 1950," which is the feminine singular past participle of naître. All to often, née is used for both men and women, which is incorrect.

OB probably derives from the Latin mortem obire, which means to meet death. I can't conjugate Latin verbs, so i assume that in its correct conjugation, it means "met death," i.e., when he died. It's also possible that "Nay" is a corruption of the Latin for "to be born."

Some nice guesses there. The medals for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine and Literature were designed by Erik Lindberg. The front shows a portrait of Alfred Nobel and the years of his birth and death in Latin - NAT-MDCCC XXXIII OB-MDCCC XCVI. (NAT short for NATIVITAS and OB short for OBITUS)

Not where I come from. I imagine you are thinking of the old fashioned English practice of giving a married woman's birth surname with née: Dorothy Smith, née Robinson.


All to often indeed.

Cool. A scientific solution!

There are, of course, men who change their names, or who use stage names. I've seen né in print (always in the New York Times, the only paper i know of which is careful about such things).

It must be a US thing then. A style choice, not a right or wrong thing. UK publications would just use "born" e.g. The singer Rocky Wilson (born Salvatore Giudella in 1923)

Or formerly. Or alias. Or a.k.a.

I think I've got one of Salvatore's early waxings.

As well, obitur does not mean death. As i have already pointed out, mortem obire means to meet death. It is from that term that obituary was coined in the much abused Latin of the middle ages, obituarius, a euphemism death in for the record of someone's death. It is a common enough euphemism--in Anglo-Saxon, forðfaran, literally to go forth, was used as a euphemism for death.

Very good, contrex. But I would suggest that the NAT stands for natus rather than nativitas. A common gravestone inscription often reads; [name of deceased]cui natus [insert year of birth] et cui obiter[insert year of death].