An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Naue

by Friedrich Kluge

Naue, f., ‘barque,’ from MidHG. nâwe, nœwe, f. and m., ‘small ship,’ espec. ‘ferryboat’; not primit. allied to Lat. nâvis, but rather borrowed from it in the MidHG. period. The Teut. cognate of Lat. nâvis, Gr. νηῦς, Sans. nãus, is OIc. nór, ‘ship,’ of which we should have expected the corresponding MidHG. form *nuowe. It is certainly remarkable that the Teut. primit. word corresponding to the Aryan terms adduced has been preserved only in Scand.