Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/272

---

land separating a Haff from the sea,’ first occurs in ModHG., allied to MidHG. (14th cent.) Nerge, ‘Kurische Nehrung’: “since Nehrung is a narrow strip of land, it may be derived from OSax. naru, ‘narrow.’” See Narbe.

Neid, m., ‘envy, grudge,’ from MidHG. nît (gen. nîdes), m., ‘hostile disposition, warlike fury, grudge, jealousy, envy,’ OHG. nîd, m., ‘hatred, anger, envy.’ It corresponds to OSax. nîð, m., ‘zeal, hostile conflict, hatred,’ Du. nijd, m., ‘envy,’ AS. nîþ, m., ‘endeavour, effort, hostility’ (obsolete in E.). In East Teut. the corresponding word is neut., Goth. neiþ, n., ‘envy,’ OIc. nið, n., ‘disgrace, opprobrious term.’ Teut. *nîþa-, connected with Lat. nîtor, ‘to exert oneself’? —

Neidnagel, see Niet.

neigen, vb., ‘to tilt, bend, incline,’ from MidHG. nîgen, str. vb., ‘to bow,’ and neigen, wk. vb., ‘to cause to bow, humiliate, lower’; OHG. nîgan, from hnîgan, str. vb., ‘to bow,’ and neigen, wk. vb., ‘to incline, bend.’ It corresponds to OSax. hnîgan, hnêgian, AS. hnîgan, hnœ̂gan, Goth. hneiwan, vb., ‘to bow, sink,’ hnaiwjan, vb., ‘to humiliate, bend’ (for *hneigwan, *hnaigwjan); the wk. vb. is the causative of the str. vb. The Teut. root hnîgw, from pre-Teut. knī̆gh (or rather knī̆q?), is uncertain in the other Aryan languages. Perhaps Lat. co-nîveo, nîco, nicto, ‘to wink, nod,’ are connected with the Teut. cognates.

nein, adv., ‘no,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. nein (negative adv.); so too OSax. nên (in the Heliand), ‘no’; derived from the Goth. adv. of negation ni, OHG. ni, MidHG. en-ne (which also appears in the n of nicht, nie, and nirgend), and the neut. of the indefinite article OHG., MidHG., and ModHG. ein, equiv. to Goth. ains; nein is therefore ‘not one’ (comp. nichts, meaning ‘not something’). The approximate source of E. no is the equiv. AS. nâ (OIc. nei), in Goth. nê, ‘no.’ The Goth. negative ni, etymologically cognate with un- and ohne, belongs to the same class as Gr. νη (e.g. νη-κερδής, ‘unprofitable’), Lat. nĕ (in nĕfas) and nē̆, ‘not, lest, in order that not,’ Sans. na, OSlov. ne, ‘not,’ Lith. ne, ‘not.’

Nelke, f., ‘pink carnation,’ a LG. form for Nägelchen (LG. negęlkin), n.; in MidHG. nęgellîn, n., ‘clove.’ Comp. Ic. negull, m., ‘clove,’ Du. nagelbloem, ‘carnation.’

nennen, vb., ‘to name,’ from the equiv.

MidHG. and OHG. nęnnen (also nęmmen); originated in namnjan by the assimilation of mn; a verbal noun from Name (OHG. namo). Comp. Goth. namnjan from namô, AS. nam an, wk. vb., equiv. to E. to name (AS. also nęmnan, equiv. to OSax. nęmnian). See Name and the remarks there on Du. noemen, ‘to name.’

nergeln, nörgeln, vb., ‘to grumble, growl,’ ModHG. only, of obscure origin; in Bav. the vb. signifies ‘to speak indistinctly’ (espec. in a guttural fashion or through the nose). Allied perhaps to Du. nurken, ‘to grumble, growl’?.

Nerv, m., ‘nerve, sinew,’ ModHG. only, from Lat. nervus.

Nessel, f., ‘nettle,’ from the equiv. MidHG. neȥȥel, OHG. nęȥȥila, f.; corresponding to MidLG. and Du. netel, AS. nętele, f., E. nettle; allied to earlier OHG. equiv. naȥȥa (the same as Ic. nǫtr?), ‘nettle.’ Goth. *natus, f., and *natilô, f., ‘nettle,’ are by chance not recorded. Since the HG. word can never lave had an initial h before the n., Gr. κνίδη, ‘stinging nettle,’ cannot be regarded as a cognate. The word has more correctly been connected with the common Teut. Netz (Goth. 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 Pruss. noatis, Lith. noterė, and OIr. nenaid.

Nest, n., ‘nest, haunt,’ from MidHG. and OHG. nëst, n., ‘nest, resting-place for birds and also for sucking animals’; corresponding to MidLG., Du., AS., and E. nest; Goth. *nista- is wanting. The cognates are primit.; the OTeut. form previous to the permutation of consonants was nizdo-, which is indicated likewise b Sans. nîḍa-s, ‘lair of animals,’ also ‘dwelling,’ as well as by OIr. net, ‘nest,’ Lat. nîdus, ‘nest,’ for *nizdus (Lith. lìzdas and Slav. gnězdo, ‘nest,’ are abnormal). The form nizdo- is prop. a compound of the root sed, ‘to sit, seat oneself,’ and the verbal particle ni preserved in Sans. (see nieder); nizdo-, from ni-sedó-, therefore means lit. ‘place of settling’; comp. Sans. ni-sad, ‘to sit down, settle.’ In Lat. and Teut. nîdus and nest assumed the special meaning ‘bird's nest’; similarly in Scand. a general word for ‘couch’ (Gr. κοίτη) was restricted to a bear's haunt (OIc. híþ); it belongs, like Gr. κοίτη, κεῖμαι to the Aryan root çî, ‘to lie’). The Goth. term for ‘nest’ is sitl,