nest English · revision 10229

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 750|origins=gem-pro *nistaz|origins=ine-pro *nizdós}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /nɛst/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|ang|nest|t=bird's nest, snug retreat]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from Proto-Germanic *nistaz^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) (source also of Dutch nest and German [[m|de|Nest]], but not found in Scandinavian or Gothic),^(Etymonline) from PIE [[ine-pro|*nizdós|alt=*nizdo-]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Latin [[m|la|nidus]], Old Irish net, Welsh nyth, Old Church Slavonic gnězdo and Sanskrit [[m|sa|नीड|tr=nīḍa|t=resting place, nest]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is a compound of *ni, down (as in [[nether]]), and *sed-, to sit (see [[sit]]),^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) so that a nest was originally a sitting-down place.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A bird's nest; a snug retreat: about 750, in ''The Phoenix'', in Barnhart, about 950 in the OED.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old English nest also meant a young bird or brood.^(Etymonline) A place where a person finds rest or a home is from before 1000,^(OED 1989) and a lair or abode of animals or insects from 1386.^(OED 1989) A place where something is lodged is from 1589,^(OED 1989) and a set of similar objects, such as boxes or tables fitting one inside another, from the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986) The verb replaced Old English nistan, to build or live in a nest;^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) it is from the 13th century.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) The related [[nestle]] first meant to build a nest, and took on its modern sense in the 16th century.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 750 – a bird's nest.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1000 – a place of rest.^(OED 1989)

+ * 13th century – the verb.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1386 – a lair of animals.^(OED 1989)

+ * 16th century – a set of objects.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A structure made by a [[bird]] to hold its eggs and young.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A similar place where fish, insects or other animals lay eggs or keep their young.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A snug place of refuge; a home.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A place that fosters something bad, or the people in it: ''a nest of thieves''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A set of things of graduated sizes that fit inside one another.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To build or occupy a nest.^(AHD)

+ # To fit or stack things one inside another.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nestable]]

+ * [[nester]]

+ * [[nestlike]]

+ * [[nesty]]

+ * [[nestle]]

+ * [[crow's-nest]]

+ * [[mare's-nest]]

+ * [[bird's nest]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nestling]]

+ * [[nidus]]

+ * [[nether]]

+ * [[sit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}