nei

Forms

nei adv., interj.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never, not”).^[3] De Vries traces it to *ni-aiw, the negative ne with the adverb “ever”;^[4] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon likewise thinks it probably the same formation as Gothic 𐌽𐌹 𐌰𐌹𐍅 (ni aiw, “never”) and Old English nā, the negation joined to the accusative of the noun for “time, age”, Proto-Germanic *aiwaz.^[5][6] The negative goes back to Proto-Indo-European *né (“not”).^[3][7]

Hellquist allows that the Norse and English words may also have arisen separately, and he explains Swedish nej as a different compound, of the negative and ej (“not”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Menota first dates the word in the Norwegian manuscript AM 619 4to, of 1200–1225.^[9] The earliest passage ONP dates is in Ágrip, of 1225, as an answer in dialogue: nei, kvaþ hann, mik vill hann hitta “no, he said, it is me he wants to meet”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word is the answer “no”, the opposite of já, and was also used as a noun, “a no”.^[10][11] Phrases are kveða nei við “to say no to” and setja þvert nei fyrir “to refuse flatly”.^[1][12] The Gulathing law gives a defendant's nei no force unless he offers an oath.^[10]

The word lives on in Icelandic nei and Norwegian Nynorsk nei.^[5] English nay, recorded from the late 12th century, is from a Scandinavian source such as this word.^[13][4]

Timeline

• 1200–1225 – nei in the Norwegian manuscript AM 619 4to.^[9]
• 1225 – nei, kvaþ hann in Ágrip.^[2]
• 1225–1250 – Næi in the manuscript DG 8 II.^[14]
• 1275 – nei in Morkinskinna, by IcePaHC's dating.^[15]

Meanings

Adverb

1. no;^[2][1][12] kveða nei við e-u to say no to something;^[2][1][12] setja þvert nei fyrir to refuse flatly.^[2][1][12]

Descendants

• Icelandic nei^[3]
• Faroese nei^[3]
• Norwegian Nynorsk nei^[3]
• Norwegian Bokmål nei^[3]
• Middle English nai, whence English nay^[13]

Related words

• ne
• né
• neita
• ei

References

1. ^ a b c d e Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. nei
2. ^ a b c d e f Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. nei
3. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 407
5. ^ a b Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. nei
6. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 10
7. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 406
8. ^ Hellquist, Elof (1922), Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Lund, p. s.v. nej
9. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 619 4to
10. ^ a b Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. nei
11. ^ Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 451
12. ^ a b c d Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 441
13. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. DG 8 II
15. ^ Wallenberg, Joel C.; Ingason, Anton Karl; Sigurðsson, Einar Freyr; Rögnvaldsson, Eiríkur, Icelandic Parsed Historical Corpus, version 0.9