In his 1931 book, Pedersen defined Nostratic as follows (1931:338): As a comprehensive designation for the families of languages which are related to Indo-European, we may employ the expression Nostratian languages (from Latin nostrās "our countryman").
A definición de Pedersen do nostraciano é a seguinte (1931:338): Como unha designación comprensiva das familias de linguas en relación co indoeuropeo, podemos empregar a expresión linguas nostracianas (do latín nostrās "o noso compatriota") .