Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/273

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lit. ‘seat,’ which therefore is of a cognate root with Nest.

Nestel, f. and m., ‘lace,’ from MidHG. nęstel, f., OHG. nęstilo, m., nęstila, f.,‘knot of ribbons, bow, lace (for stays, &c.), bandage’; allied to MidLG. and Du. nestel, ‘girdle, lace,’ OIc. nist, niste, n., ‘stitching needle,’ and with further gradation OHG. nusta, f., ‘tying together,’ as well as nuska, MidHG. 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 Lat. necto, ‘to join’ (and the Sans. root nah, ‘to connect’?). OHG. nęstilo (Goth. *nastila) has also been connected with Lat. nôdus (for *nozdus, like nîdus from *nizdus; see Nest). The form *nastila passed into Rom.; comp. Ital. nastro, ‘silk ribbon.’

nett, adj., ‘neat, nice, pretty,’ first occurs in early ModHG.; from Du. and Fr. net (Lat. nitidus).

Netz, n., ‘net,’ from the equiv. MidHG. nętze, OHG. nęzzi, n.; corresponding to OSax. nęt (and nętti), n., Du., AS., and E. net, Goth. nati, OIc. net, n., ‘net’; a common Teut. term, to which the graded Scand. nȯt, ‘large net,’ is allied. The etymology is obscure; it is scarcely allied to naß, Teut. *nata-; it is rather connected with Nessel, with which it may be based on a pre-Teut. root nū̆d, ‘to sew, knit.’ Comp. also Lat. nassa, ‘creel, net.’

netzen, vb., ‘to wet, moisten,’ from MidHG. nętzen, OHG. nęzzen (Goth. natjan), ‘to wet’; a verbal noun from naß.

neu, adj., ‘new, fresh, modern, novel,’ from the equiv. MidHG. niuwe, niu, OHG. niuwi. Corresponding forms exist in the Teut. and Aryan group; Goth. niujis, OIc. nŷr, AS. níwe, E. new, Du. nieuw, OSax. niuwi. Teut. niuja, from pre-Teut. néuyo-, appears also in Sans. návyas (and návas), Lith. naújas (OSlov. novŭ, Lat. novus, Gr. νέος), The prim. meaning of this primit. Aryan neujo-, newo, cannot be determined with certainty; it is probably connected with the OAryan particle nū̆, ‘now,’ so what was new was regarded as ‘that which has just come into being’ (comp. nun). Its relation to the following word is very doubtful.

neun, num., ‘nine,’ from the equiv. MidHG. and OHG. niun; corresponding to Goth. niun, ‘nine,’ OSax. nigun, Du. negen, AS. nigun, E. nine, OIc. níu (all these represent *nī̆jun?); a common Aryan

numeral, like all the units. Comp. Sans. návan, Lat. novem, Gr. ἐννέα, OIr. 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 MidHG. niht, pronom. subst., ‘nothing,’ OHG. niwiht, neowiht, ‘not’; it is used even in OHG. and MidHG. to strengthen the negative ni, en. In the 12th cent. this negative begins to be omitted, and towards the end of the 15th cent. 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 subst. (see Niete), OHG. neowiht is a compound from ni eo wiht, ‘never a whit’ (comp. Wicht); so OSax. neowiht, Du. niet, AS. nâwiht, náuht, E. not and naught; Goth. ni waíhts, ‘nothing,’ ni waíhtai, ‘by no means.’ See nein, nie, noch, and nur.

Nichte, f., ‘niece,’ ModHG. only (unknown to UpG. dialects in which Base is used), from LG. nicht, in MidHG. niftel, OHG. niftila, f. (dimin. of OHG. nift); comp. AS. nift, OIc. nipt. These are fem. forms of Neffe, pointing to Goth. *nifti, pre-Teut. neptî, f., from nepôt, m. The meaning of Nichte fluctuates as in the case of Neffe; MidHG. niftel, ‘niece, mother's sister, first cousin,’ OIc. nipt, ‘sister’s daughter, niece,’ OHG. nift, ‘neptis privigna.’ Comp. also Lat. neptis, ‘granddaughter,’ with nepos; Sans. naptî, f., ‘daughter, granddaughter,’ with nâpât.

nichts, pronom. subst., ‘nothing,’ ModHG. only, in MidHG. niht. It originated from MidHG. nihtes niht, an emphatic form of the simple niht, which was ultimately omitted; the ModHG. dial. form nichtst is probably based directly on the MidHG. phrase, which in late MidHG. appears as nihtzit.

Nickel, m. and n., ‘nickel,’ ModHG. only, from the equiv. Swed. nickel.

nicken, vb., ‘to nod, doze,’ from MidHG. nicken, OHG. nicchen; the iterative of neigen (like schmücken of schmiegen, bücken of biegen). Nacken is not allied.

nie, adv., from the equiv. MidHG. nie, OHG. nio, neo, ‘never’; a compound of ni and eo, ‘not ever,’ like OSax. nio from ni io, AS. nâ from ne â; in Goth. the