Etymologically
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nigh

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English nigh, also neigh and neih,[2][3] inherited from Old English nēah in West Saxon and Kentish and nēh in Anglian,[4][5][6] inherited from Proto-Germanic *nēhw.[4] Its cognates are Old Frisian nēi, Old Saxon nāh, Middle Dutch nā, Dutch na, Old High German nāh, German nah, Old Norse ná- (only in compounds such as nábúi (“neighbour”)) and Gothic 𐌽𐌴𐍈 (nehw), 𐌽𐌴𐍈𐌰 (nehwa).[7][4][8][5] The further origin is uncertain:[7][4] the OED mentions the Indo-European base of enough, an extension of a base meaning "on, at", or a Germanic innovation,[7] and Etymonline finds no cognates outside Germanic.[4] The Old English comparative nēar became near, and the superlative nēhst became next; when sound changes hid their link with the positive, new forms nigher and nighest arose in the 14th century.[4][5] The same word is the first element of neighbour.[5][3] The verb comes partly from Old English genēahian and partly from the adverb.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Near, close by, in place: Barnhart dates the West Saxon nēah to about 725, in Beowulf, and the Anglian nēh to about 830, in the Vespasian Psalter.[5][7] The Middle English form nih appears probably before 1200, in Layamon's Chronicle of Britain.[5]

Semantic evolution

In Old English the word was chiefly an adverb, often with a dative, and the attributive adjective became common only in the 14th or 15th century.[7] The sense of nearness in time, with verbs of motion, is recorded from about 1400, in Piers Plowman.[7] Johnson (1755) gave as the adjective's senses "near" and "allied closely by blood", as in nigh kinsmen.[9] The adverb also came to mean "nearly, almost",[10][2] as in well-nigh and nigh on.[2] The word is now archaic, poetic or dialectal, an old word for near.[11][8] The Dictionary of American Regional English records it in the United States, chiefly in the South Midland,[12] and Wright found it in many dialects of Scotland, Ireland and England.[13] The verb, "to approach", is recorded from late Old English and is now rare.[7][8]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – Old English nēah, near, in Beowulf.[5][7]
  • c. 830 – Anglian nēh, in the Vespasian Psalter.[5]
  • late Old English – verb, to draw near to, approach.[7]
  • c. 1175 – verb, intransitive, to come near, in the Ormulum.[7]
  • before 1200 – Middle English nih, in Layamon.[5]
  • 14th century – the new comparative and superlative nigher and nighest.[4][5]
  • c. 1400 – near in time, in Piers Plowman.[7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (archaic, literary or dialect) Near in place, time or relationship: Winter draws nigh.[11][2][8]
  2. Nearly, almost: for nigh on thirty years.[10][2]

Adjective

  1. (archaic, literary or dialect) Near, close.[11][2][8]

Preposition

  1. (archaic, literary or dialect) Near to.[11][2][8]

Verb

  1. (archaic) To draw near; to approach.[2][8][7]

Word family

  • anigh
  • neighbour
  • unnigh
  • well-nigh

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  11. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  12. ^ Cassidy, Frederic G. & Joan Houston Hall (eds.) (1985–2002), Dictionary of American Regional English, vols I–IV, Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
  13. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)