nod English · revision 39826

+ English has a verb ''nod'', of uncertain origin, with the noun formed from it, and a dialect noun ''nod'', the nape of the neck, which is probably a shortening of ''noddle''.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /nɒd/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /nɑd/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|move the head}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=c. 1390, G. Chaucer, Manciple's Tale}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|nodden]], of uncertain origin.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966)^(Dictionary.com 2016) It is not found in Old English, and Etymonline thinks it probably existed there unrecorded;^(Etymonline)^(Skeat 1911)^(Weekley 1921) the OED, the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English compare [[gmh|notten|t=to move to and fro, shake]] and suggest a Low German origin.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010) Barnhart and Merriam-Webster compare [[goh|hnotōn|t=to shake]] and [[non|hnjóða|t=to strike, rivet]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Skeat 1911) from a Germanic verb [[gem-pro|*hnudōną]],^(Barnhart 1988) and Barnhart refers them to [[ine-pro|*kneudʰ-]].^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline thinks the word apparently unrelated to [[la|nuō|t=to nod]],^(Etymonline) which Partridge took to be akin, with [[grc|νεύω|tr=neúō|t=to nod]].^(Partridge 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To bow the head quickly, in greeting, agreement or command: about 1390, in Chaucer's ''Manciple's Tale'',^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) in Barnhart's reading of the head drooping in drunkenness or sleepiness.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Nodding as a sign of greeting or assent, and nodding from drowsiness, were both present early: the involuntary nod of a sleepy person is recorded from about 1425.^(OED 2026) Weekley compares the link between nodding and dozing in [[fr|niquer|t=to nod]] and [[de|nicken]].^(Weekley 1921) The noun, a nod of the head, dates from 1541.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) From 1567 it also meant a command given by a nod and so absolute power, as in Prior's line "nations obey my word, and wait my nod", which Johnson quoted.^(OED 2026)^(Johnson 1755) The figurative sense "to make a slip through inattention" (1677) echoes Horace's remark that even good Homer sometimes nods, [[la|dormitat Homerus]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Weekley 1921) The pun ''the land of Nod'', sleep, after the biblical land east of Eden, is recorded from 1738 in Swift;^(OED 2026)^(Weekley 1921) Etymonline dates it to 1731.^(Etymonline) Of plants, ''nod'' means to bend and sway from 1578.^(OED 2026) The phrase ''a nod and a wink'' is recorded from 1710, and the proverb ''a nod's as good as a wink (to a blind horse)'' from 1793.^(OED 2026)^(Cresswell 2021) In the 20th century the noun came to mean approval to go ahead (1924), a nomination for an award (1944), and an acknowledgement or allusion (1935).^(OED 2026) American drug slang used it for the stupor of a narcotic, as a noun by 1937 and as a verb by 1958.^(OED 2026)^(GDoS)^(Etymonline) In northern English and Scots dialect ''to nod'' was simply to fall asleep, and ''noddy'' meant sleepy.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1390 – to bow the head.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1425 – to let the head drop when drowsy.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1541 – noun, a nod of the head.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1578 – of plants, to bend and sway.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1677 – to make a slip.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1684 – ''nod off''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1710 – ''a nod and a wink''.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1738 – ''the land of Nod'', sleep.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1924 – ''the nod'', approval.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1937 – (US slang) a drugged stupor.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To lower and raise the [[head]] briefly, as a sign of agreement, greeting or [[command]], or to point something out: ''She nodded towards the door.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To express or show something by nodding: ''He nodded his thanks.''^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # To let the head fall forward when [[drowsy]], to doze, or with ''off'', to fall asleep.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To make a small mistake through a lapse of attention.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # Of flowers, trees and the like, to bend and [[sway]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (football) To head the ball gently.^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A quick downward movement of the head: ''He gave a nod of recognition.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''the nod'': [[approval]] or permission to go ahead.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A brief [[acknowledgement]] of or allusion to something.^(OED 2026)

+ # (slang) A drowsy state caused by [[narcotic]] drugs, as in ''on the nod''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nodder]]

+ * [[nodding]]

+ * [[nod off]]

+ * [[land of Nod]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|nape}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=clipping|attested=1695, W. Kennett}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably a shortening of [[noddle|t=the back of the head]],^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) and Merriam-Webster calls it a back-formation from that word.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The nape of the neck: 1695, in White Kennett's ''Parochial Antiquities'', on Kent dialect.^(OED 2026)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Wright's ''English Dialect Dictionary'' records the word in Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, as in a Sussex speaker's "it catched me right across the nod of my neck".^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1695 – the nape of the neck.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # (dialect, England) The [[nape]] of the neck.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[noddle]]

+ * [[noddy]]

+ * [[nap]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}