Etymologically
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nein

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Pronunciation

Forms

nein[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German nein, inherited from Old High German nein, contracted from the negative particle ni (“not”) and the neuter of ein, so that it meant “not one”.[2][3][4][5] The same formation is Old Saxon nēn, Middle Low German nēn and Middle Dutch neen, continued in Dutch nee.[4][3][2] The EWA explains these as a fusion of Proto-Germanic *ne (“not”) with the adverbial accusative of Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one”).[4] In the other Germanic languages the combination stayed a fully inflected pronoun meaning “no, none”: Old Norse neinn, Old English nān (whence English none) and Old Frisian nān.[2][4][6]

The Gothic word for “no” was 𐌽𐌴 (nē), a lengthened form of the negative particle.[2][3] Old Norse nei and Old English nā probably go back to *ne aiwin (“not ever”), whose second part is in je.[2]

The negative particle continues Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”), also found in Sanskrit न (ná), in the prefix Latin ne- of nesciō (“not to know”), and in Old Church Slavonic не (ne).[3][6] It is also contained in nicht, nie and un-.[3][7] The Latin nōn, from Old Latin noenum, was built in the same way from “not” and “one”.[2][3][8] Kaspar Stieler and Frisch had already seen that the German word is contracted from “not one”.[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German nein is recorded from the 9th century, in the glosses, the Tatian (about 830) and Notker, meaning “no, not, not at all”.[4][9][10] The Tatian uses it as an answer to a question: bist thû uuîʒago? inti her antligôta nein “art thou a prophet? and he answered, no” (John 1:21).[8][5]

Semantic evolution

Old and Middle High German, and sometimes Early New High German, repeated the subject of the question after the word with a pronoun, as in Geiler von Kaysersberg's wiltu nicht anders? nain ich “won't you have it otherwise? no, not I”.[5][11] Middle High German already used it as a noun: Walther von der Vogelweide and other poets speak of ein nein beside ein jâ.[11] The word also stands for a whole negated clause after verbs of hoping or fearing, as in Schiller's Ich hoffe nein “I hope not”.[5]

Besides refusing and contradicting, nein came to express astonishment, and to strengthen what follows (“no, even”).[7][5][12] The dialects have many forms: Silesian nei, Swabian and Alemannic nai, Bavarian and Austrian nā, noa, Swiss na, and Central and Low German nê, nee.[8] Colloquial nee, probably from northern German, has also been written in literature since the 16th century.[3] The verb verneinen goes back to Old High German firneinen (11th century), and Verneinung dates from about 1700.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 830 – The Old High German Tatian uses nein as an answer.[8][9]
  • 11th century – First record of Old High German firneinen “to deny”.[3]
  • 1482 – The Vocabularius teutonico-latinus spells it neyn.[5]
  • 16th century – Colloquial nee appears in writing.[3]
  • 1691 – Kaspar Stieler explains the word as a contraction of ni ein.[5][8]
  • c. 1700 – First record of Verneinung “negation”.[3]

Meanings

Particle

  1. No: gives a negative answer to a question: „Hast du Hunger?“ – „Nein.“ Nein, danke.[12][1]
  2. Strengthens a refusal, often doubled or with other particles: nein, nein!, aber nein!, o nein![12]
  3. (stressed, after a negative sentence) Asks for agreement, “isn't it?”: Du bist doch nicht böse, nein?[12]
  4. (unstressed) Introduces an exclamation of surprise or delight: Nein, wie schön, dass ihr da seid![12][7]
  5. (unstressed) Adds something stronger: “no, even, indeed”: Dutzende, nein Hunderte von Briefen.[12]
  6. Introduces a clause that denies what was said before and strengthens the denial: Nein, das glaube ich nicht.[12][5]
  7. (colloquial, standing alone) Expresses disbelief: „Sie hat gekündigt.“ – „Nein!“[12][5]

Word family

  • verneinen
  • Verneinung
  • Nein

Usage notes

As a noun, das Nein (plural Nein or Neins) is a negative answer or refusal; the proverb Ein Nein zur rechten Zeit erspart viel Widerwärtigkeit praises saying no at the right moment.[12][1] Nein sagen (also nein sagen) is to refuse, and someone who nicht Nein sagen kann is too good-natured to refuse.[12] In Early New High German nein was also a shortened form of hinein “in, into”, as in Hans Sachs: und fuhr mit in die schüssel nein.[8][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 652
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  4. ^ a b c d e Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 6, 868
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  6. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
  7. ^ a b c Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag, p. 588
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 13, 586
  9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
  10. ^ Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 235
  11. ^ a b Lexer, Matthias (1872–1878), Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch, 3 vols., Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  13. ^ Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de