An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Niet

by Friedrich Kluge

Niet, n., from the equiv. MidHG. niet, m. and f., ‘bolt’; OHG. *hniot is not recorded with this sense. The word is connected with OHG. hniotan, ‘to fasten,’ OIc. hnjóða, vb., ‘to strike, hammer, fix firmly’; the Teut. root hnud, pre-Teut. knut, has not yet been found in other languages.