An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/N (full text)
N.
na, particle, ‘well then! now!’ Modern High German only, unknown to Middle High German; scarcely identical with the interrogative particle na, which Notker (Old High German) uses at the end and in the middle of interrogative sentences expressed negatively.
Nabe, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German nabe, Old High German naba, feminine, ‘nave (of a wheel)’; corresponding to Dutch naaf, aaf, nave (see Näber, Natter), Anglo-Saxon nafu, feminine, English nave, Old Icelandic nǫf, feminine, all of which have the same meaning; Gothic *naba, feminine, is by chance not recorded. Both the word and the idea are Old Aryan (primitive form nobhâ); compare Old Indian nãbhi, feminine, and nãbhya, neuter, ‘nave (of a wheel).’ Undoubtedly the cognates discussed under Nabel with the meaning ‘navel’ are primitively allied, the Indian word nâbhi just quoted also signifying ‘navel,’ as well as Lettic naba, feminine, which is exactly equivalent in sound to Old High German naba. Hence Latin umbo (for *onbo, *nobo), ‘boss (of a shield),’ may also be connected with umbilîcus, ‘navel’; compare Greek ὀμφαλός, ‘navel, boss (of a shield).’ With regard to the antiquity of the terms denoting parts of a waggon see Rad, Achse, Lünse, and Deichsel.
Nabel, masculine, ‘navel,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nabel, Old High German nabolo, masculine; corresponding to Dutch navel, Anglo-Saxon nafela, English navel, Old Icelandic nafle, masculine, ‘navel’; Gothic *nabala is by chance not recorded. A common Aryan word in the primitive forms nobhelo-, onbhelo-; compare Greek ὀμφαλός, Latin umbilîcus (for *unbilîcus, *nobilîcus), Sanscrit nâbhîla, Old Irish imbliu, ‘navel.’ These words are primitive l- derivatives of Old Aryan nóbkâ, onbhâ, ‘nave, navel,’ appearing in Nabe. In other cases the Old Aryan terms for parts of the body are mostly underived forms (see Herz and Ohr).
Naber, Näber, masculine, ‘auger, gimlet,’ from Middle High German nęgber, nagcber, masculine, a strange corruption (probably by connection with Nagel) of nębe-gêr, nabe-gêr, masculine, ‘auger’ (compare Essig). Corresponding to Old High German naba-gêr, masculine, ‘auger,’ literally ‘spear, pointed iron tool to bore naves,’ also Anglo-Saxon nafogâr, ‘auger,’ Middle English nevagǫ̂r, nauger, English auger (with regard to the apparent loss of an initial n compare English adder, equivalent to Modern High German Otter; similarly Dutch avegaar, ‘auger,’ as well as aaf, are, ‘nave’), equivalent to Old Low German nabugêr, Scandinavian nafarr, ‘auger.’ An Old Teutonic compound, whence Finnish napakaira, ‘auger.’
nach, preposition, ‘after, behind, in accordance with,’ from Middle High German nâch, Old High German nâh, preposition, ‘after, near to, beside’; compare Gothic nêhw, nêhwa. preposition, ‘near to’; allied to the adjective nahe, Old High German nâh, Gothic nêhws.
nachahmen, see ahmen.
Nachbar, masculine, ‘neighbour,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nâchgebûr, Old High German nâhgibûr, nâhgibûro, masculine; corresponding to Dutch nabuur, Anglo-Saxon nêhhebûr, masculine, English neighbour; a common West Teutonic compound, pointing to Gothic *nêhwagabûr, masculine; it signifies ‘he who lives near to another.’ Compare Bauer.
Nachen, masculine, ‘boat, skiff,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nache, Old High German nahho, masculine; corresponding to Old Saxon naco, Dutch naak, aak (respecting the form without n see Näber), Anglo-Saxon naca, masculine (obsolete in later English); Old Icelandic nǫkkve, masculine, ‘boat’; Gothic *naqa, masculine, is by chance not recorded (see also Rahn). Its origin is obscure; perhaps Latin nâv-is, Greek ναῦ-ς, Sanscrit nãus, are allied, Latin nav- being changed to naq. Compare queck.
nachschlagen, see Geschlecht.
Nächste, masculine, the superlative of nahe used as a substantive, ‘neighbour, fellow-man’; compare Old High German nâhisto, masculine, ‘neighbour’; in Gothic nêhwundja, masculine, ‘neighbour.’
Nacht, feminine, ‘night,’ from the equivalent Old High German and Middle High German naht, feminine; corresponding to Gothic nahts, Old Icelandic nótt, Anglo-Saxon neaht, niht, English night, Dutch nacht, Old Saxon naht, feminine; a common Old Teutonic naht-, feminine, from common Aryan nokt-, ‘night.’ Compare Latin nox (stem nocti-), Greek νύξ (νυκτ-), Sanscrit nákta-, naktan-, neuter, nákti-, feminine, Lithuanian naktìs, Old Slovenian noštĭ. While the word ‘night’ is common to all the Aryan languages, they differ considerably in the terms for ‘day’; this is due to the fact that time in the primitive Aryan period was counted by nights and not by days; relics of this method are seen in Fastnacht, ‘Shrove Tuesday,’ Weihnachten, ‘Christmas,’ and English fortnight, sennight (compare Ostern and Osten). Only a few main divisions of time, such as Monat and Jahr, are widely diffused.
Nachtigall, feminine, ‘nightingale,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nahtegal, Old High German nahte-gala, feminine; a term common to the West Teutonic languages for ‘luscinia,’ properly ‘singer in the night’ (allied to Old Teutonic galan, ‘to sing’); Old Saxon nahtigala, Dutch nachtegaal, Anglo-Saxon nihtegale, English nightingale.
Nacken, masculine, ‘nape,’ from Middle High German nacke, nac (genitive -ckes), masculine, ‘hind part of the head, nape,’ Old High German nac hnac (cch), masculine; compare Dutch nek, Anglo-Saxon hnëcca, masculine, ‘neck, nape,’ English neck, Old Icelandic hnakke, masculine, ‘hind part of the head’ (Gothic *hnakka, *hnikka, is wanting). In Suabian and Franconian Anfe or Genick is mostly used, and in Bavarian Genäck (the Bavarian meaning of nacken, ‘bone,’ is remarkable). The graded form with ë (Anglo-Saxon hnëcca) parallel to a-o is preserved by Modern High German in Genick; English nape (Anglo-Saxon hnapa?) seems to be a corresponding form with a medial labial. In the non-Teutonic languages the word may be cognate with Old Irish cnocc, OBret. cnoch, ‘hill, elevation’ (stem cnocco-).
nackt, nackend, adjective, ‘naked, bare, nude,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nackt, nackent, Old High German nacchut, nahhut, adjective; corresponding to Dutch naakt, Anglo-Saxon nacod, English naked, Old Icelandic nǫkkverðr, Gothic naqaþs, with the same meaning; a participle derivative (see falt) naqe-dó from pre-Teutonic nogetó- (Old Irish nocht, ‘naked,’ from the primary form nokto-). In Indian the form nagná occurs with a participle na for ta; Old Slovenian nagŭ, Lithuanian nu̇gas, ‘naked,’ are formed without a suffix. Nothing further is known concerning the Aryan root nō̆g (allied to Latin nûdus for *novdus, *nogvidus?), which has a bearing on the history of civilisation, since it implies the correlative ‘non-naked,’ i.e. ‘clad,’ and thus assumes that a sort of dress was worn in the primitive Aryan period. See also bar.
Nadel, feminine, ‘needle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nâdel, Old High German nâdal, nâdala, feminine; corresponding to Gothic nêþla, Old Icelandic nál, Anglo-Saxon nœ̂dl, feminine, English needle, Dutch naald, Old Saxon nâdla. A common Teutonic form for ‘needle,’ with the suffix þlô- (tlâ-), from the root nê (Radel, literally ‘an instrument for sewing), appearing in Modern High German nähen.
Nagel, masculine, from the equivalent Middle High German nagel, Old High German nagal, feminine, ‘nail’; corresponding to Old Saxon nagal, Dutch nagel, Anglo-Saxon nœgel, English nail, Old Icelandic nagl, ‘nail’; Gothic *nagls may be deduced from the recorded verb nagljan, ‘to nail.’ The West Teutonic words have mostly the double sense ‘nail of the finger or toe’ and ‘wooden, iron nail.’ The former meaning, in accordance with the corresponding words in the other Aryan languages, is the original one (in Old Icelandic there is a distinction between nagl, ‘finger-nail,’ and nagle, ‘wooden, iron nail’). Teutonic naglo- originated in Aryan noghlo-, or rather nokhló-; compare Old Indian nakhá, masculine and neuter, ‘finger or toe nail, claw of birds,’ Greek ὀνυχ- (nominative ὄνυξ), ‘claw, talon, hoof,’ then also ‘hook,’ Latin unguis, ‘claw, talon,’ Old Slovenian nogŭtĭ, ‘nail, claw’ (from Old Slovenian nogà, feminine, ‘foot’); Lithuanian nágas, ‘finger-nail,’ nagà, ‘horse's hoof.’ ‘The root nokh, nogh, is unknown; it must not be sought for in nagen, the root of which was rather pre-Teutonic ghnagh. See Nelke.
nagen, verb, ‘to gnaw, nibble,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nagen, Old High German nagan, with the earlier variant gnagan; compare Old Saxon and Anglo-Saxon gnagan, English to gnaw, Old Icelandic gnaga, ‘to gnaw.’ There are also forms with initial k instead of g, Dutch knagen, Old Low German cnagan, likewise High German chnagan, ‘to gnaw’; the form nagen originated in gnagen. To the Teutonic root gnag, knag, no correspondences have been found as yet in the non-Teutonic languages.
nah, adjective, ‘near, impending,’ from Middle High German nâch (inflected nâher), Old High German nâh (inflected nâhêr), adjective, ‘near’; corresponding to Old Saxon nâh, Low German and Dutch na, Anglo-Saxon neáh, English nigh, adjective (whence the compare Anglo-Saxon neár, adverb, English near; superlative next, English next); Old Icelandic nár, Gothic néhws, ‘near.’ To the Gothic stem nêhwa- (for further derivatives see under Nachbar and nah) we should have expected néko-, nêqe-, in the non-Teutonic languages, but they do not occur. Greek ἐγγύς, ‘near,’ is no more equivalent in sound to nahe than Sanscrit nā̆́huša, ‘neighbouring."—
nahe, adverb, from the equivalent Middle High German nâhe, Old High German nâho, adverb, ‘near, nearly.’—
Nähe, feminine, ‘nearness, proximity,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nœhe, Old High German nâhî, feminine; an abstract of the adjective nâh.
nähen, verb, ‘to sew, stitch,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nœjen, Old High German nâjan; corresponding only to Dutch naaijen; Gothic *naian is wanting, neither is the word found in the other Teutonic languages. The verbal stem nê contained in nähen was at one time more widely diffused in the Teutonic group, as may be inferred from the common Teutonic Nadel (nêþlô-); compare further Naht. In the non-Teutonic languages a root nê, ‘to spin,’ is found, which is usually connected with the root of nähen; compare Latin neo, Greek νέω, ‘I spin,’ νῆμα, ‘thread,’ νῆτρον, ‘spindle’; to this is allied a root snâ in Old Irish snáthe, ‘thread,’ snâthat, ‘needle’ (compare Schnur). The cognates were probably borrowed in pre-historic times by one tribe from another (compare mahlen), so that nähen may not be a genuine Teutonic word.
-nahr in nahrhaft, from Middle High German nar, Old High German nara, feminine, ‘rescue, maintaining, sustenance,’ To this is allied the derivative Nahrung, feminine, ‘nourishment, food,’ from Middle High German narunge, feminine, maintenance, nourishment’; allied to nähren.
nähren, verb, ‘to nourish, support, foster,’ from Middle High German nęrn, nęrigen, Old High German nęren, nęrian; properly causative of genesen, hence ‘to cause to recover, make healthy, heal, rescue, keep alive.’ The modern gene is found as early as Middle High German. The word corresponds to Old Saxon nęrian, Anglo-Saxon nęrigan, Gothic nasjan, ‘to rescue.’ The change of s (for z) to West Teutonic and Scandinavian r at the end of the stem in causative verbs is normal (compare lehren); allied to Old Icelandic nœ́ra. See nahrhaft and genesen.
Naht, feminine, ‘seam,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German nât, feminine; corresponding to Dutch naad. Allied to nähen, root né (Gothic *néþs), and to Old High German nâtâri, nâteri, Middle High German nâtœre, masculine, ‘sewer, tailor,’ of which the feminine form is Middle High German nâtœrîn, Modern High German Nähterin. See Nadel and nähen.
naiv, adjective, ‘naïve, artless,’ borrowed in the last century from French naïf.
Name, masculine, ‘name,’ from the equivalent Middle High German name, Old High German namo, masculine. This word, to which there are corresponding terms in all the Teutonic and Aryan languages, is of the greatest antiquity, and is most widely diffused. Compare Old Saxon namo, Dutch naam, Anglo-Saxon nǫma, nama, masculine, English name; Gothic namô, neuter Old Icelandic nafn, neuter (for namn), ‘name’; equivalent to the corresponding Sanscrit nãman-, Greek ὄ-νουα, Latin nômen, Old Slovenian imę, neuter (from *ĭn-men, *n-men), Prussian emmens, Old Irish ainm. The Aryan primitive form may have been nō̆men-. Aryan nômen is indicated by Middle High German bennomen and Dutch noemen, ‘to name,’ yet the Old Slovenian and Old Irish words present some phonetic difficulties. Formerly Greek ὄνομα and Latin nômen were derived from the root γνω-, gnô-, ‘to recognise’ compare English to know, see kennen), so that Aryan nō̆men would represent gnômen, and have originally signified ‘means of recognition’; this view wants phonetic confirmation. Others derive Name from the root nem in nehmen, so that the word would mean ‘that which is accepted,’ which is likewise improbable; see further nennen and nämlich.
Napf, masculine, ‘bowl, basin,’ from Middle High German napf, Old High German napf, for an earlier hnapf, masculine, ‘goblet, dish’; corresponding to Middle Low German and Dutch nap, ‘bowl,’ Anglo-Saxon hnœp (genitive hnœppes), ‘goblet.’ Of obscure origin. The Teutonic cognates passed into Romance; compare Italian nappo, French hanap, ‘goblet.’
Narbe, feminine (apparently hardly known in Upper German), ‘scar,’ from the equivalent Middle High German narwe, late Old High German narwa, feminine, literally ‘narrowness, contraction’; a feminine substantive from the adjective narwa- (Old Saxon naru, Anglo-Saxon nearu, English narrow), ‘narrow’ (compare Nehrung). Compare in the non-Teutonic languages, Lithuanian nèr-ti, ‘to thread (a needle),’ narvà, ‘cell of the queen-bee.’
Narde, feminine ‘nard, spikenard,’ from the equivalent Middle High German narde, Old High German narda, feminine; formed from Greek and Latin νάρδος, nardus, introduced also through the translation of the Bible into other languages.
Narr, masculine, ‘fool,’ from Middle High German and Middle Low German narre, masculine, ‘simpleton, fool,’ Old High German narro, masculine ‘madman’; a word peculiar to German, the origin of which is totally obscure. The derivation from Middle Latin nârio, ‘sneerer, scoffer, subsannans,’ is not satisfactory, since the Latin word would be represented by a different form in German; moreover, there is no reason, as far as the meaning is concerned, to suppose that the word was borrowed (see Gaukler). Allied to Old High German snurring, Middle High German snürrine, ‘buffoon, fool’?.
Narwal, masculine, ‘sea-unicorn,’ Modern High German only, borrowed from Danish and Swedish narhval (equivalent to Old Icelandic ná-hvalr), whence also English narwal. The origin of these cognates, introduced from the North, is obscure. See Walfisch.
naschen, verb, ‘to pilfer dainties,’ from Middle High German naschen, Old High German nascôn, ‘to partake of dainties, pilfer dainties’; for *hnaskôn, allied to Gothic hnasqus, ‘soft, tender,’ Anglo-Saxon hnęsče, ‘soft, tender,’ English nesh?.
Nase, feminine, ‘nose,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nase, Old High German nasa, feminine; corresponding terms occur in the other Teutonic languages, but Gothic *nasa is by chance not recorded. Old Icelandic nǫs, feminine (for nasu, nasô); Anglo-Saxon (with gradation o, a) nosu, nasu, English nose (the form with a in the stem appears in numerous Anglo-Saxon compounds as nœs-), Dutch neus. Like other terms for parts of the body, this too is common Aryan (see Fuß, Herz, Ohr, Niere, Zahn, &c.); compare Old Indian nā̆sâ, nas, feminine. Old Slovenian nosŭ, masculine, Lithuanian nósis, Latin nâsus, nâres. See further Nüstern.
naß, adjective, ‘wet, moist,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German naȥ, adjective; corresponding to Gothic *nata-, nominative *nats, ‘wet’ (deduced from natjan; see netzen); Old Saxon and Dutch nat. Teutonic nata- can scarcely be connected with Sanscrit nadĭ, feminine, ‘river,’ because the latter is derived from a root nad, ‘to rush, roar.’ Perhaps Greek νοτερός, ‘wet’ (νοτέω, ‘I am wet’), points, like the Teutonic cognates, to a root not, nod (compare Naß with Greek κότος). Netz likewise may be primitively allied; see Netz and netzen. —
Naß, neuter, ‘humidity,’ from Middle High German naȥ, neuter, ‘fluid, moistness’; the adjective naß used as a neuter substantive —
Nässe, feminine, ‘humidity, moisture,’ from Middle High German nezze, Old High German nezzl, feminine, an abstract from naß.
Natter, feminine, ‘adder, viper, asp,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nâter, nâtere, Old High German nâtara, feminine; corresponding to Old Saxon nâdra, Dutch adder (for nadder; see under Nabe, Näber), Anglo-Saxon nœ̂ddre, English adder (likewise, with the loss of the initial n, see Otter). Gothic *nêdro is wanting, the graded form nadrs, masculine, ‘adder,’ being used; Old Icelandic naðr, naðra, ‘adder.’ A specifically Teutonic word, the early history of which is not quite clear; it can scarcely be connected with Latin natrix, ‘water-snake,’ which belongs to nare, natare, ‘to swim.’
Naue, feminine, ‘barque,’ from Middle High German nâwe, nœwe, feminine and masculine, ‘small ship,’ especially ‘ferryboat’; not primitively allied to Latin nâvis, but rather borrowed from it in the Middle High German period. The Teutonic cognate of Latin nâvis, Greek νηῦς, Sanscrit nãus, is Old Icelandic nór, ‘ship,’ of which we should have expected the corresponding Middle High German form *nuowe. It is certainly remarkable that the Teutonic primitively word corresponding to the Aryan terms adduced has been preserved only in Scandinavian.
Nebel, masculine, ‘mist, fog, haze,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nëbel, Old High German nëbul; corresponding to Old Saxon nëbal, masculine, Dutch nevel (in English mist; see Mist). Gothic *nibls is wanting; allied to the Old Icelandic compounds with nifl-, ‘darkness,’ to which njól, ‘night,’ is akin (compare Anglo-Saxon nifol, ‘dark’). Old High German nëbul, from pre-Teutonic nebholo-, corresponds to Greek νεφέλη, ‘cloud, mist,’ Greek νέφος, ‘cloud, mist,’ Latin nĕbula, ‘mist,’ Sanscrit nábhas, neuter, ‘mist, cloud, dampness,’ Old Slovenian nebo (stem nebes-), neuter, ‘sky,’ Old Irish nel, ‘cloud.’
neben, adverb and preposition, ‘beside, along with, in addition to,’ from Middle High German nëben, shortened form of enében, Old High German nëben, inében, ‘beside’; as a compound of in and eben it signifies literally ‘in the same line with,’ similarly Anglo-Saxon on efn, on emn, ‘alongside.’ Compare the following word.
nebst, preposition, ‘along with, together with,’ first occurs in early Modern High German, with the variant nebenst. Borrowed from Dutch, in which nevens, ‘near to,’ occurs, which is etymologically equivalent to neben.
necken, verb, ‘to tease, banter,’ from Middle High German (Middle German) nęcken, ‘to excite the appetite,’ to which is allied Middle High German (Middle German) nachaft, ‘malicious, crafty,’ nac-heit, ‘malice, cunning’; not found in Old High German. Of obscure origin. See Schabernack.
Neffe, masculine (with abnormal ff), ‘nephew,’ from Middle High German nëve, Old High German něvo, masculine; originally existing in all the Old Teutonic dialects (now obsolete in Suabian and Bavarian). The meaning in the older languages was not so definite as at present; Middle High German nëve, most frequently means ‘sister's son,’ also more rarely ‘brother's son,’ likewise ‘uncle,’ then generally ‘relative’; Dutch neef, ‘grandson, nephew, cousin,’ Anglo-Saxon nëfa, ‘grandson, nephew’ (English nephew is based on French neveu), Old Icelandic nefe, masculine, ‘relative.’ Gothic *nifa, masculine, is by chance not recorded. The cognates are primitive and common to the Aryan group; Teutonic *nefôd, nominative singular (of which there is a feminine form niftî; see Nichte), from pre-Teutonic népôt, appears in Indian nápât (stem náptṛ), ‘descendant, son, grandson,’ Latin nepos, ‘grandson,’ Greek ἀνεψιός, ‘first cousin,’ νέποδες, ‘brood,’ Old Irish nia, ‘sister’s son.’ With regard to the fluctuation of meaning see Braut, Oheim, Vetter, and Schwager.
nehmen, verb, ‘to take, accept,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nëmen, Old High German nëman; a common Teutonic strong verb with the same signification throughout the group; compare Gothic, Old Saxon, and Anglo-Saxon niman, Old Icelandic nema. The most nearly allied in sense to these are Latin emere and Old Irish em (Old Slovenian imą?), ‘to take,’ with which nehmen is connected in sound if its initial n is the relic of a particle. Old Teutonic nëman may, however, be compared more probably with Greek νέμω, ‘to distribute, pasture’ (transitive) γέμος (νόμος), ‘pasturage,’ equivalent to Latin nemus, ‘grove,’ Greek γόμος, ‘law,’ in which case it is especially connected with the mid. verb νέμεσϑαι, ‘to distribute among themselves, possess, consider as, hold.’
Nehrung, feminine, ‘a long narrow strip of land separating a Haff from the sea,’ first occurs in Modern High German, allied to Middle High German (14th century) Nerge, ‘Kurische Nehrung’: “since Nehrung is a narrow strip of land, it may be derived from Old Saxon naru, ‘narrow.’” See Narbe.
Neid, masculine, ‘envy, grudge,’ from Middle High German nît (genitive nîdes), masculine, ‘hostile disposition, warlike fury, grudge, jealousy, envy,’ Old High German nîd, masculine, ‘hatred, anger, envy.’ It corresponds to Old Saxon nîð, masculine, ‘zeal, hostile conflict, hatred,’ Dutch nijd, masculine, ‘envy,’ Anglo-Saxon nîþ, masculine, ‘endeavour, effort, hostility’ (obsolete in English). In East Teutonic the corresponding word is neuter, Gothic neiþ, neuter, ‘envy,’ Old Icelandic nið, neuter, ‘disgrace, opprobrious term.’ Teutonic *nîþa-, connected with Latin nîtor, ‘to exert oneself’? —
Neidnagel, see Niet.
neigen, verb, ‘to tilt, bend, incline,’ from Middle High German nîgen, strong verb, ‘to bow,’ and neigen, weak verb, ‘to cause to bow, humiliate, lower’; Old High German nîgan, from hnîgan, strong verb, ‘to bow,’ and neigen, weak verb, ‘to incline, bend.’ It corresponds to Old Saxon hnîgan, hnêgian, Anglo-Saxon hnîgan, hnœ̂gan, Gothic hneiwan, verb, ‘to bow, sink,’ hnaiwjan, verb, ‘to humiliate, bend’ (for *hneigwan, *hnaigwjan); the weak verb is the causative of the strong verb. The Teutonic root hnîgw, from pre-Teutonic knī̆gh (or rather knī̆q?), is uncertain in the other Aryan languages. Perhaps Latin co-nîveo, nîco, nicto, ‘to wink, nod,’ are connected with the Teutonic cognates.
nein, adverb, ‘no,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German nein (negative adverb); so too Old Saxon nên (in the Heliand), ‘no’; derived from the Gothic adverb of negation ni, Old High German ni, Middle High German en-ne (which also appears in the n of nicht, nie, and nirgend), and the neuter of the indefinite article Old High German, Middle High German, and Modern High German ein, equivalent to Gothic ains; nein is therefore ‘not one’ (compare nichts, meaning ‘not something’). The approximate source of English no is the equivalent Anglo-Saxon nâ (Old Icelandic nei), in Gothic nê, ‘no.’ The Gothic negative ni, etymologically cognate with un- and ohne, belongs to the same class as Greek νη (e.g. νη-κερδής, ‘unprofitable’), Latin nĕ (in nĕfas) and nē̆, ‘not, lest, in order that not,’ Sanscrit na, Old Slovenian ne, ‘not,’ Lithuanian ne, ‘not.’
Nelke, feminine, ‘pink carnation,’ a Low German form for Nägelchen (Low German negęlkin), neuter; in Middle High German nęgellîn, neuter, ‘clove.’ Compare Icelandic negull, masculine, ‘clove,’ Dutch nagelbloem, ‘carnation.’
nennen, verb, ‘to name,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German nęnnen (also nęmmen); originated in namnjan by the assimilation of mn; a verbal noun from Name (Old High German namo). Compare Gothic namnjan from namô, Anglo-Saxon nam an, weak verb, equivalent to English to name (Anglo-Saxon also nęmnan, equivalent to Old Saxon nęmnian). See Name and the remarks there on Dutch noemen, ‘to name.’
nergeln, nörgeln, verb, ‘to grumble, growl,’ Modern High German only, of obscure origin; in Bavarian the verb signifies ‘to speak indistinctly’ (especially in a guttural fashion or through the nose). Allied perhaps to Dutch nurken, ‘to grumble, growl’?.
Nerv, masculine, ‘nerve, sinew,’ Modern High German only, from Latin nervus.
Nessel, feminine, ‘nettle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German neȥȥel, Old High German nęȥȥila, feminine; corresponding to Middle Low German and Dutch netel, Anglo-Saxon nętele, feminine, English nettle; allied to earlier Old High German equivalent naȥȥa (the same as Icelandic nǫtr?), ‘nettle.’ Gothic *natus, feminine, and *natilô, feminine, ‘nettle,’ are by chance not recorded. Since the High German word can never lave had an initial h before the n., Greek κνίδη, ‘stinging nettle,’ cannot be regarded as a cognate. The word has more correctly been connected with the common Teutonic Netz (Gothic nati), on the assumption that nets in early times were made of nettle-threads. Further cognates are wanting. The term has also been compared with Prussian noatis, Lithuanian noterė, and Old Irish nenaid.
Nest, neuter, ‘nest, haunt,’ from Middle High German and Old High German nëst, neuter, ‘nest, resting-place for birds and also for sucking animals’; corresponding to Middle Low German, Dutch, Anglo-Saxon, and English nest; Gothic *nista- is wanting. The cognates are primitively; the Old Teutonic form previous to the permutation of consonants was nizdo-, which is indicated likewise b Sanscrit nîḍa-s, ‘lair of animals,’ also ‘dwelling,’ as well as by Old Irish net, ‘nest,’ Latin nîdus, ‘nest,’ for *nizdus (Lithuanian lìzdas and Slavonic gnězdo, ‘nest,’ are abnormal). The form nizdo- is properly a compound of the root sed, ‘to sit, seat oneself,’ and the verbal particle ni preserved in Sanscrit (see nieder); nizdo-, from ni-sedó-, therefore means literally ‘place of settling’; compare Sanscrit ni-sad, ‘to sit down, settle.’ In Latin and Teutonic nîdus and nest assumed the special meaning ‘bird's nest’; similarly in Scandinavian a general word for ‘couch’ (Greek κοίτη) was restricted to a bear's haunt (Old Icelandic híþ); it belongs, like Greek κοίτη, κεῖμαι to the Aryan root çî, ‘to lie’). The Gothic term for ‘nest’ is sitl, literally ‘seat,’ which therefore is of a cognate root with Nest.
Nestel, feminine and masculine, ‘lace,’ from Middle High German nęstel, feminine, Old High German nęstilo, masculine, nęstila, feminine,‘knot of ribbons, bow, lace (for stays, &c.), bandage’; allied to Middle Low German and Dutch nestel, ‘girdle, lace,’ Old Icelandic nist, niste, neuter, ‘stitching needle,’ and with further gradation Old High German nusta, feminine, ‘tying together,’ as well as nuska, Middle High German nüsche, ‘clasp of a cloak’ If st and sk in these words be regarded as a part of the derivative, they may be compared with Latin necto, ‘to join’ (and the Sanscrit root nah, ‘to connect’?). Old High German nęstilo (Gothic *nastila) has also been connected with Latin nôdus (for *nozdus, like nîdus from *nizdus; see Nest). The form *nastila passed into Romance; compare Italian nastro, ‘silk ribbon.’
nett, adjective, ‘neat, nice, pretty,’ first occurs in early Modern High German; from Dutch and French net (Latin nitidus).
Netz, neuter, ‘net,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nętze, Old High German nęzzi, neuter; corresponding to Old Saxon nęt (and nętti), neuter, Dutch, Anglo-Saxon, and English net, Gothic nati, Old Icelandic net, neuter, ‘net’; a common Teutonic term, to which the graded Scandinavian nȯt, ‘large net,’ is allied. The etymology is obscure; it is scarcely allied to naß, Teutonic *nata-; it is rather connected with Nessel, with which it may be based on a pre-Teutonic root nū̆d, ‘to sew, knit.’ Compare also Latin nassa, ‘creel, net.’
netzen, verb, ‘to wet, moisten,’ from Middle High German nętzen, Old High German nęzzen (Gothic natjan), ‘to wet’; a verbal noun from naß.
neu, adjective, ‘new, fresh, modern, novel,’ from the equivalent Middle High German niuwe, niu, Old High German niuwi. Corresponding forms exist in the Teutonic and Aryan group; Gothic niujis, Old Icelandic nŷr, Anglo-Saxon níwe, English new, Dutch nieuw, Old Saxon niuwi. Teutonic niuja, from pre-Teutonic néuyo-, appears also in Sanscrit návyas (and návas), Lithuanian naújas (Old Slovenian novŭ, Latin novus, Greek νέος), The primary meaning of this primitively Aryan neujo-, newo, cannot be determined with certainty; it is probably connected with the Old Aryan particle nū̆, ‘now,’ so what was new was regarded as ‘that which has just come into being’ (compare nun). Its relation to the following word is very doubtful.
neun, numeral, ‘nine,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German niun; corresponding to Gothic niun, ‘nine,’ Old Saxon nigun, Dutch negen, Anglo-Saxon nigun, English nine, Old Icelandic níu (all these represent *nī̆jun?); a common Aryan numeral, like all the units. Compare Sanscrit návan, Latin novem, Greek ἐννέα, Old Irish nói. It has been supposed that the common Aryan word for neun (newn) is derived from neu (néwos), ‘nine’ being regarded as the ‘new number’ of the third tetrad; the system of reckoning by fours must be assumed as the oldest in the Aryan languages, since the numeral acht, ‘eight,’ is a dual form.
nicht, particle, ‘not,’ from Middle High German niht, pronominal substantive, ‘nothing,’ Old High German niwiht, neowiht, ‘not’; it is used even in Old High German and Middle High German to strengthen the negative ni, en. In the 12th century this negative begins to be omitted, and towards the end of the 15th century it entirely disappears, its place being taken by nicht. In zu nichte machen, ‘to bring to nought, ruin,’ and mit nichten, ‘by no means,’ nicht is still used as a substantive (see Niete), Old High German neowiht is a compound from ni eo wiht, ‘never a whit’ (compare Wicht); so Old Saxon neowiht, Dutch niet, Anglo-Saxon nâwiht, náuht, English not and naught; Gothic ni waíhts, ‘nothing,’ ni waíhtai, ‘by no means.’ See nein, nie, noch, and nur.
Nichte, feminine, ‘niece,’ Modern High German only (unknown to Upper German dialects in which Base is used), from Low German nicht, in Middle High German niftel, Old High German niftila, feminine (diminutive of Old High German nift); compare Anglo-Saxon nift, Old Icelandic nipt. These are feminine forms of Neffe, pointing to Gothic *nifti, pre-Teutonic neptî, feminine, from nepôt, masculine. The meaning of Nichte fluctuates as in the case of Neffe; Middle High German niftel, ‘niece, mother's sister, first cousin,’ Old Icelandic nipt, ‘sister’s daughter, niece,’ Old High German nift, ‘neptis privigna.’ Compare also Latin neptis, ‘granddaughter,’ with nepos; Sanscrit naptî, feminine, ‘daughter, granddaughter,’ with nâpât.
nichts, pronominal substantive, ‘nothing,’ Modern High German only, in Middle High German niht. It originated from Middle High German nihtes niht, an emphatic form of the simple niht, which was ultimately omitted; the Modern High German dialectic form nichtst is probably based directly on the Middle High German phrase, which in late Middle High German appears as nihtzit.
Nickel, masculine and neuter, ‘nickel,’ Modern High German only, from the equivalent Swedish nickel.
nicken, verb, ‘to nod, doze,’ from Middle High German nicken, Old High German nicchen; the iterative of neigen (like schmücken of schmiegen, bücken of biegen). Nacken is not allied.
nie, adverb, from the equivalent Middle High German nie, Old High German nio, neo, ‘never’; a compound of ni and eo, ‘not ever,’ like Old Saxon nio from ni io, Anglo-Saxon nâ from ne â; in Gothic the two words were kept separate, ni aiw, ‘never.’ With regard to the negative ni see nicht; and for Old High German io, Gothic aiw, Compare je.
nied, preposition, ‘below,’ from Middle High German nide, ‘under, below,’ Old High German nida, preposition, ‘under, beneath’; allied to nieder.
nieden (in hienieden), adverb, ‘below, beneath,’ from Middle High German niden, nidene, Old High German nidana, adverb,‘below’; compare Old Saxon nithana, Anglo-Saxon neoþan (from Anglo-Saxon beneoþan is derived English beneath); allied to nieder.
nieder, adverb, from the equivalent Middle High German nider, Old High German nidar, adverb, ‘down, downward’; corresponding to Old Saxon nithar, Dutch neder, Anglo-Saxon niþer, English nether, Old Icelandic niðr; Gothic *niþar, is by chance not recorded. A derivative of the Aryan verbal particle ni, ‘down’ (see Nest), which is preserved in other Teutonic forms (see nied and nieden); compare Old Slovenian nizŭ, ‘below,’ as well as Sanscrit ni, ‘down,’ and Sanscrit nitarâm, which is closely allied to the Teutonic adverb — nieder, as an adjective, ‘nether, lower, base,’ has been recently formed from the adverb Old High German nidari, Middle High German nider, nidere, adjective, ‘nether, low’; akin to Old Saxon nithiri.
niedlich, adjective, ‘pleasant, pretty, nice,’ from Middle High German *nietich, of which only the adverb nietlîche, ‘zealously, diligently,’ is recorded; late Old High German nietsam, ‘desiderabilis, desirable, pleasant’; compare Old Saxon niudsam, ‘pleasant.’ The cognates are connected with Old High German niot, masculine, ‘lively longing, zealous endeavour,’ Old Saxon niud, Anglo-Saxon neód, ‘zeal, longing.’
Niednagel, Neidnagel, masculine, see Niet.
niemand, pronoun with an excrescent final d (as in Mond), from nie and man, ‘nobody’; compare Middle High German nieman, niemen, Old High German nioman, ‘nobody’; see nie and jemand.
Niere, feminine, ‘kidney,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nier, niere, Old High German nioro, masculine (Old High German also ‘testicle’); corresponding to Dutch nier, feminine, Middle English and Middle Low German nêre (to which are allied English kidney, Middle English kidenêre, from Anglo-Saxon *cȳ̆dneóre, *cȳ̆dneóra?, ‘kidney’; in Scandinavian nýra, ‘kidney,’ with i- mutation. If the latter indicates Gothic *niuzô, neuter, the Teutonic class has no further cognates; but if we are to assume Gothic *niurô, niurjô, corresponding forms may be found in the other Aryan languages, which have numerous terms for parts of the body in common with Teutonic; Gothic *niurô for *niwrô, *negwrô, from Pre-Teutonic *neghrôn, which is represented in Greek by an equivalent γεφρός, ‘kidney, testicle’ (φ for gh); akin further to Latin nefrones. With regard to Gothic *niu- for *niw-, *nigw-, see Au.
niesen, verb, ‘to sneeze,’ from the equivalent Middle High German niesen, Old High German niosan, strong verb; corresponding to Dutch niezen, Old Icelandic hnjósa (to which hnore, masculine, ‘sneezing,’ is allied), Middle English nêsin; also Anglo-Saxon fneôsan, Middle English fnêsen, equivalent to Dutch fniezen, ‘to sneeze.’ The two Teutonic roots hnus and fnus seem to have been originally identical; with these are connected Middle English snêsen, English to sneeze. The pre-Teutonic root qnus, ksnus, may be onomatopoetic.
Nieswurz, masculine, ‘hellebore,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nieswurz, feminine; akin to the preceding word. The name is due to the fact that the pulverised root has been used from the earliest times to produce sneezing.
Nießbrauch, masculine, ‘usufruct,’ allied to nießen; see genießen.
Niet, neuter, from the equivalent Middle High German niet, masculine and feminine, ‘bolt’; Old High German *hniot is not recorded with this sense. The word is connected with Old High German hniotan, ‘to fasten,’ Old Icelandic hnjóða, verb, ‘to strike, hammer, fix firmly’; the Teutonic root hnud, pre-Teutonic knut, has not yet been found in other languages.
Niete, feminine, ‘blank (in a lottery)’; “adopted in the first half of the 18th century after the introduction of lotteries in the Dutch fashion, from the equivalent Dutch niet, masculine and neuter, ‘nothing, nought,’ the gender of which was changed to feminine; the Dutch word exactly corresponded originally to Modern High German nichts, nicht.” See the latter words.
Niftel, feminine, see Nichte.
nimmer, adverb, ‘never, never again,’ from Middle High German niemer, nimmer, nimer (from nie mêr), ‘never (of present and future actions)’; compare Modern High German nimmer in the sense of ‘no more, never again,’ for which nimmermehr is used in preference. From Middle High German niemêr, nimmêr, ‘never more.’ Both forms are derivatives of Old High German nio and mêr (like Anglo-Saxon nœ̂fre, English never, from *nâmire); nimmermehr contains the second component twice. See nicht and nie.
nippen, verb, Modern High German only, from Low German and Dutch nippen, ‘to sip’; in Henneb. and Bavarian nepfen, nöpfen, with the High German pf. Compare further Anglo-Saxon nipele, English nipple?.
Nippsache, feminine, ‘toy, trinket,’ Modern High German only, formed from French nippe.
nirgend, nirgends, adverb, ‘nowhere,’ from Middle High German niergen, niergent; see irgend.
nisteln, nisten, verb, ‘to build a nest, nestle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nistein, nisten, Old High German nisten; a verbal noun from Nest. Compare Anglo-Saxon nistlian, English to nestle, Dutch nestelen.
Niß, feminine, ‘nit,’ from the equivalent Middle High German niȥ (ȥȥ), feminine, for hniȥ; corresponding to Dutch neet, Anglo-Saxon hnitu, feminine, and the equivalent English nit; Gothic *hnits is not recorded. According to the permutation of consonants Greek κονίς, plural κονίδες, ‘eggs of lice, bugs, fleas,’ &c., may be akin, if the words in both languages be based on knid. It has also been connected with Slavonic gnida. Nuß is not allied.
nit, the same as nicht.
Nix, masculine, ‘nixey, water-fairy,’ from Middle High German (very rare) nickes, Old High German nihhus, neuter and masculine, ‘crocodile’; compare Anglo-Saxon nicor, ‘hippopotamus,’ English nick, ‘water-sprite’ (Old Nick, applied to the devil), Middle Dutch nicker, ‘water-sprite,’ Old Icelandic nykr (from *niqiza), ‘water-sprite in the form of a hippopotamus,’ also ‘hippopotamus.’ The Old High German and Middle High German sense ‘crocodile’ is easily associated with the other meanings of the cognates; the primary signification may be ‘fabulous sea-monster.’ The word is probably based on a Teutonic root niq from pre-Teutonic nig (Sanscrit nij, Greek νίπτω), ‘to wash oneself’; thus Nix would mean originally ‘a sea-animal that delights in bathing, sea-spirit,’ while the masculine Nix, like Anglo-Saxon nicor, points to Gothic *niqiza, *nikuza-, the corresponding feminine Nixe, preserved only in High German, indicates Gothic *niqisi; Old High German nicchessa, Middle High German *nickese, *nixe, in waȥȥernixe, feminine, ‘female water-sprite,’ for which in Middle High German męrwîp and męrmeit are used.
Nobistrug, masculine, ‘underwold, hell,’ borrowed, like Krug, ‘tavern,’ the second part of the compound, in early Modern High German from Low German. The first component is Middle High German abis, abyss, masculine, ‘abyss,’ whence with n prefixed (compare Italian nabisso, from the usual combination in abysso), the Low German form Nobisfrung, hence literally ‘tavern in hell’
noch (1.), adverb, from the equivalent Middle High German nock, Old High German noh, ‘still’; corresponding to Old Saxon noh, Dutch nog, Gothic nauk, ‘still’; a compound of nu, ‘now,’ and h, equivalent to Latin que, Greek τε, Sanscrit ca, ‘and also’; therefore the originally meaning is probably ‘also now,’ or ‘even, just now’; compare nun, and with regard to Gothic h-, equivalent to Latin que, see noch (2).
noch (2.), conjunction, ‘nor,’ from Middle High German noch, Old High German noh, ‘nor, not even, and not even’; Old High German noh—nok, Middle High German noch-, noch, ‘neither—nor,’ also even in Middle High German wëder—noch. Corresponding to Old Saxon noh, Dutch noch; in Gothic nih, ‘nor, not even,’ Gothic nih—nih, ‘neither—nor.’ Gothic nih is exactly equivalent to Latin ne-que (with regard to Gothic ni, Latin ne, see nicht). The particle -h, -uh, corresponding to Latin que, Greek τε, Sanscrit ca, ‘and,’ had a definite meaning in Gothic.
Nock, neuter, ‘yard-arm,’ Modern High German only, borrowed, like other nautical terms, from Low German; compare Dutch nock,. ‘summit, point.’
None, feminine, ‘afternoon prayers,’ from Middle High German nône, Old High German nôna, feminine, ‘hora nôna, the ninth hour of the day’ (reckoned from six A.M.), also ‘the prayers said at that hour.’ The term was borrowed during the Old High German period from Latin nôna (scil. hora; compare French none, Italian nona); compare also Old Saxon nôna, nôn, Anglo-Saxon nôn, English noon (the difference in time is said to be due to the shifting of the canonical ‘nona’ to midday).
Nonne, feminine, ‘nun,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nunne, Old High German nunna, feminine; corresponding to Dutch non, Middle Low German and Anglo-Saxon nunne, feminine, English nun, adopted, like the previous word, in connection with monastic life, both in German and English about the beginning of the 9th century, from Latin nonna (Greek νόννα), which passed also into Romance; compare French nonne, nonnain, ‘nun,’ Italian nonna, ‘grandmother,’ like Italian nonno, ‘grandfather.’ The early history of the cognates is obscure; late Latin nonna was an ‘expressíon of reverence’ (hence its meaning in Italian).— Nonne, feminine, ‘gelded sow,’ is, like the corresponding words in Middle High German and Dutch, identical with Nonne, ‘nun,’ and was thus termed for sexual reasons.
Nord, masculine (almost obsolete in the Upper German vernacular), ‘north,’ from Middle High German nort (genitive nordes), masculine and neuter, Old High German nord, masculine; corresponding terms are found in all the Old Teutonic languages (whence Italian norte and French nord), the names of the cardinal points being formed independently in Teutonic; in this case the Aryan languages possess no common term. Compare Old Saxon *north (recorded only as an adverb ‘northwards’), Anglo-Saxon norþ, masculine, English north. Gothic *naúrþs, or rather *naúrþr (equivalent to Old Icelandic norðr), is by chance not recorded. It has been connected with Greek νέρτερος, ‘that which exists below, lower down,’ which would involve the assumption that the word was coined at a period when the Teutons were descending the northern slope of a mountain range. Yet it must also be remembered that Umbr. nertro signifies ‘on the left.’ — To this Norden, masculine, ‘northern region,’ is allied; from Middle High German (Middle German) norden, Old High German nordan. neuter; compare also Süden.
Norne, feminine, Modern High German only, naturalised, especially by Klopstock, from the equivalent Old Icelandic norn (plural norner), ‘goddess of fate’; the origin of the term is disputed.
Nößel, neuter, ‘pint’ (nearly), allied to Middle High German nœȥelîn (ö?), neuter, ‘a small liquid measure,’ diminutive of an obsolete primitively word, the origin of which is obscure.
Not, feminine, ‘need, compulsion, distress,’ from Middle High German and Old High German nôt, feminine (seldom masculine), ‘toil, oppression, danger, struggle, compulsion’; a common Teutonic form; compare Gothic nauþs, feminine, ‘necessity, compulsion, force,’ Old Icelandic nauðr, feminine, ‘necessity,’ Anglo-Saxon nŷd, neád, feminine, English need, Dutch nood, Old Saxon nôd. The common Teutonic stems naudi, nauþi, from pre-Teutonic nauti-, have been connected with Prussian nauti-, ‘distress’; nau- (see genau) is probably the root. —
Notdurft, feminine, ‘necessaries’ (of life), from Middle High German nôt-durft, feminine, ‘necessity, need, needs of nature, want of necessaries, livelihood,’ Old High German nôtduruft, feminine (Old Saxon nôdthurft); allied to Gothic naudiþaurfts, adjective, ‘necessary.’ —
Noterbe, masculine, early Modern High German, equivalent to ‘necessary, legitimate heir, who may not be passed over.’ —
Notwehr, feminine, ‘self-defence,’ from Middle High German nôtwęr, feminine, ‘warding off force.’ —
Notzucht, feminine, ‘rape,’ formed from Middle High German (Lower Rhenish) nôtzühten, ‘to ravish, violate,’ and also the equivalent Middle High German nôtzogen, literally ‘to treat in a violent manner,’ even in Old High German nôtzogôn (Middle High German and Old High German nôtnumft, ‘rape’).
Note, feminine, ‘note, annotation,’ from Latin nota (French note); in the sense of ‘musical note, melody,’ note appears even in Middle High German.
nu, adverb, ‘well now, well,’ equivalent to nun.
nüchtern, adjective, from the equivalent Middle High German nüchtern, nüchter, Old High German nuohturn, nuohtarnîn, adjective, ‘without food or drink, fasting, temperate,’ compare Dutch nuchter, Anglo-Saxon nixtnig. The assumption that the word is based on Latin nocturnus does not suffice to explain the meaning of nüchtern, since the Latin term signifies only ‘nocturnal, at night’; nor is it possible to regard Old High German nuohturn as a genuine Teutonic derivative of Aryan nō̆kt, ‘night’ (Old Icelandic nótt), since it must have been equivalent in meaning to Latin nocturnus. It may more probably be compared with Greek νηφάλιος, ‘I am sober,’ νηφάλιος, νήπτης, ‘sober, without wine,’ the φ-π of which may represent an old guttural. In spite of this probable connection of the root, the suffix of nüchtern is still obscure,
Nücke, Nucke, feminine, ‘freak, artfulness,’ Modern High German only, from Low German nücke; compare Dutch nuk, ‘freak.’
Nudel, feminine, ‘vermicelli, dumpling,’ first occurs in Modern High German, whence French nouilles; of obscure origin.
nun, adverb, ‘now, at present,’ from Middle High German and Old High German nu (with the variant nû), ‘at the present time, now,’ rarely in Middle High German with the adverbial suffix n (nun, nuon). Further in Modern High German nu (from Middle High German n); corresponding to Old Saxon nū̆, Dutch nu, Anglo-Saxon nū̆, English now, Gothic nū̆, ‘now.’ A common Teutonic temporal adverb; compare Sanscrit nu, nû, ‘now,’ nûnam, ‘now,’ Greek νύ, νῦν, Latin nunc (with the c of hi-c), Old Slovenian nyně, ‘now,’ Lithuanian nu. Compare neu and noch (1).
nur, adverb, ‘only, simply,’ from Middle High German newœre, Old High German niwâri (Old Saxon ne wâri); literally ‘it would not be, if it were not.’ Middle High German and the Modern High German dialects have numerous intermediate forms between n-wœre and Modern High German nur, especially nœ̂r, neur, niur, nuor. For the negative ne see nicht.
Nüster, feminine, ‘nostril,’ Modern High German only, from Low German nuster, English nostril, is demonstrably a compound, signifying literally ‘nose-hole’ (compare Anglo-Saxon nœs-þŷrel, nos-þyrl), We cannot so positively assume that the German word is also a compound, for the l of the English word is wanting. Hence some etymologists regard it as an r- derivative from nos- (a graded form of Nase, compare earlier Modern High German nuseln, in Logau, ‘to snivel’), with a t inserted, and connect it with Lithuanian nasraì, ‘mouth, jaw,’ and Old Slovenian nozdri, ‘nostrils.’ Niesen is not allied; compare Nase.
Nuß (1.), feminine, ‘nut,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German nuȥ, feminine, neither cognate with nor borrowed from Latin nux (nucem). It is rather a genuine Teutonic world, originally with initial h; compare Old Icelandic hnot, feminine, Anglo-Saxon hnutu, feminine, English nut, Dutch noot (Gothic *hnuts, feminine, is wanting). The genuine Teutonic cognates point to a pre-Teutonic knud-, which appears with the same sense in Old Irish cnú.
Nuß (2.), feminine, ‘blow, push,’ Modern High German simply; only apparently identical with the preceding word (compare Dachtel); historically, however, it is probably allied to Gothic hnutô, ‘prick.’
Nute, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German nuot, feminine, ‘joint, groove’; allied to Old High German hnuo, nuoa, ‘groove,’ as well as Old High German nuoil, Middle High German nuowel, nüejel, ‘groove, plane,’ nuotîsen, ‘iron of a groove plane.’ Middle High German nüejen, verb (Old High German nuoen, from *hnôjan, ‘to smooth, fit exactly,’ also belongs to a Teutonic root hnô.
nütze, adjective, ‘useful,’ from Middle High German nütze, Old High German nuzzi, adjective, ‘profitable’; Gothic un-nuts, ‘useless’; compare Anglo-Saxon nytt, ‘useful.’ Allied to genießen, where other derivatives and cognates of the strong verb are adduced.