Indo-European Lexicon
PIE Etymon and IE Reflexes
Below we display: a Proto-Indo-European (PIE) etymon adapted from Pokorny, with our own English gloss; our Semantic Field assignment(s) for the etymon, linked to information about the field(s); an optional Comment; and Reflexes (derived words) in various Indo-European languages, organized by family/group in west-to-east order where Germanic is split into West/North/East families and English, our language of primary emphasis, is artificially separated from West Germanic. IE Reflexes appear most often as single words with any optional letter(s) enclosed in parentheses; but alternative full spellings are separated by '/' and "principal parts" appear in a standard order (e.g. masculine, feminine, and neuter forms) separated by commas.
Reflexes are annotated with: Part-of-Speech and/or other Grammatical feature(s); a short Gloss which, especially for modern English reflexes, may be confined to the oldest sense; and some Source citation(s) with 'LRC' always understood as editor. Keys to PoS/Gram feature abbreviations and Source codes appear below the reflexes; at the end are links to the previous/next etyma [in Pokorny's alphabetic order] that have reflexes.
All reflex pages are currently under active construction; as time goes on, corrections may be made and/or more etyma & reflexes may be added.
Pokorny Etymon: 2. nei-, neiə-, nī- 'to be moved, excited; to shine'
Semantic Field(s): Passion, to Shine, Glisten
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | hnitu | n.fem | nit | ASD/W7 |
| nīð | n.masc | enmity, hostility | LRC | |
| nīð-hēdig | adj | lit. battle-resolved | LRC | |
| Middle English: | net | adj | clean, bright | W7 |
| nite | n | nit, insect egg | W7 | |
| English: | anil | n | indigo plant/dye | AHD |
| natty | adj | neat, trim, smart, tidy, dapper | AHD | |
| neat | adj | straight, free from dilution/admixture | AHD/W7 | |
| net | adj | free from all charges/deductions | AHD/W7 | |
| niddering | n.arch | wretch, cowardly person | AHD | |
| nilgai | n | large long-legged Indian antelope | AHD | |
| nit | n | egg of louse/other parasitic insect | AHD/W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | nīth | n | envy, hatred, enmity | ASD |
| Old Saxon: | nīð | n | envy, hatred, enmity | ASD |
| Old High German: | (h)niz | n | nit | ASD/W7 |
| nīd | n | envy, hatred, enmity | ASD | |
| German: | Niss | n | nit | ASD |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | nið | n.neut | waning moon | LRC |
| Icelandic: | gnit | n.fem | nit | ASD |
| nīð | n | libel, lampoon | ASD | |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | neiþ | n | envy, hatred, enmity | ASD |
| Italic | ||||
| Latin: | niteo, nitēre | vb | to shine | W7 |
| nitidus | adj | neat; bright | W7 | |
| Portuguese: | anil | n | anil | AHD |
| Middle French: | net | adj | clean | W7 |
| French: | anil | n | anil | AHD |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Greek: | konis, konidos | n.fem | dust, ashes | W7 |
| Iranian | ||||
| Old Persian: | naiba- | adj | beautiful | W7 |
| Persian: | nīl | n | indigo, dark blue | AHD |
| Indic | ||||
| Sanskrit: | nīla- | n | indigo, dark blue | AHD |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| arch | = | archaic |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| vb | = | verb |
Key to information Source codes (always with 'LRC' as editor):
| Code | Citation | |
|---|---|---|
| AHD | = | Calvert Watkins: The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed. (2000) |
| ASD | = | Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller: An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
