next English · revision 1839

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)|origins=gem-pro *nēhwiz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /nekst/^(Roach et al. 2011)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|nexte]], [[m|enm|neste]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD) [[inh|ang|nīehsta|t=nearest]] (West Saxon), [[m|ang|nēhsta]], [[m|ang|nēsta]] (Anglian),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the superlative of [[m|ang|nēah|t=near]] (see [[nigh]]),^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(SOED 2002) from the Germanic root [[gem-pro|*nēhwiz|t=near]] with a superlative suffix.^(AHD)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[nl|naast]], [[de|nächst]] and [[non|næstr]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Hoad 1986) ''[[near]]'' was originally the comparative of ''nigh'', and ''next'' its superlative.^(Wiktionary)^(Chambers 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Nearest in position or distance; closest in kinship (Old English ''nīehsta'', about 725, in ''Beowulf'').^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ At first ''next'' meant simply “nearest”, of place, of a neighbour, or of kinship (''next of kin'');^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Weekley notes that many such senses, as in ''the next way'', now use ''nearest'' instead.^(Weekley 1921)^(OED 1989) Of time, “immediately following”, it is recorded from about 1200, as are its adverbial and prepositional uses.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) In Old English and early Middle English the adverb could also mean “last, most recently”, a sense lost by about 1400.^(HTOED)^(Barnhart 1995) ''Next door'' first meant the door of the nearest house (about 1485), and as “very close” it dates from 1542.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Next-best'' is by the 1670s, and ''the next man'', the average person, originally American, from 1857.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In recent London slang ''next'' is used for something new and exciting.^(GDoS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English ''nīehsta'', in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – of time, immediately following; as an adverb and preposition.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1485 – ''next door'', the door of the nearest house.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1542 – ''next door'', very close.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670s – ''next-best''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1857 – ''the next man'' (US).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Immediately following in time, order or sequence: ''next week'' or ''the next patient''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Nearest in place; [[adjacent]]: ''the next room''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Any other, taken as typical: ''as well as the next man''.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Immediately afterwards; in the nearest place or order: ''next we drove home''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # On the first occasion to come: ''when next we meet''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Preposition===

+ # ''(archaic)'' Nearest or adjacent to; next to.^(MW Collegiate)^(Chambers 2008)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The next person or thing: ''from one day to the next''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[next-door]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nigh]]

+ * [[near]]

+ * [[neighbour]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}