neinn

Forms

neinn indefinite pronoun (feminine nein, neuter neitt)^[1]

Etymology

It is a contraction of the phrase ⟨né einn⟩ “not one”, from Old Norse né + einn.^[2][3][4] De Vries derives it from a Germanic compound of Proto-Germanic *ne (“not”) and *ainaz (“one”), formed like Latin nōn (“not”), and compares Old English nān (“none”), Old Frisian nān (“none”), Old Saxon nēn and Old High German nein (“no”).^[5] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon gives the same set, with the Old Saxon word glossed “none”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

ONP's earliest dated citations are from 1275, in the sense “any” after a negation: man ec hvartki fara a fund Dana konungs ne Svia konungs at biðia þa neinna mvna um “I will go neither to the king of the Danes nor to the king of the Swedes to ask them for any favours”.^[6] Another manuscript has the uncontracted ne eiɴa in the same place.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Although made of “not” and “one”, neinn is not itself a negative in Old Norse: it follows a negation, stated or implied, and means “any”, so that ekki neitt is “nothing”.^[2][7] Möbius notes a use as “no, none” with no negation before it,^[1] and in modern Icelandic it stands both without a negation (“any”) and as “none”.^[8] ONP finds it mostly in historical works and sagas, and not in the laws.^[6]

Timeline

• 1275 – neinna and neinom in ONP's earliest dated citations.^[6]
• 1275–1300 – neín in the manuscript Holm perg 4 fol.^[9]
• 1320–1350 – neinn, neitt and neina in the Njáls saga and Laxdæla saga of AM 132 fol.^[10]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. any, after a negation;^[6][3] á neinn máta “in any way”, neitt sinn “at any time”, neins staðar “anywhere”.^[6][3]
2. as a noun, anybody, anything;^[3][2] ekki neitt “nothing”.^[3][2]

Descendants

• Icelandic neinn^[4]

Related words

• einn
• né
• engi

References

1. ^ a b Möbius, Theodor (1866), Altnordisches Glossar, Leipzig: Teubner, p. 314
2. ^ a b c d Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 451
3. ^ a b c d e Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. neinn
4. ^ a b c Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. neinn
5. ^ de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 407
6. ^ 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. neinn
7. ^ Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. neinn
8. ^ Sigfús Blöndal (1920–1924), Islandsk-dansk ordbog, Reykjavík, p. 1042
9. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. Holm perg 4 fol
10. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 132 fol