nigh

English

WOTD – 16 October 2011    

Etymology

Old English nēah, nēh, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /naɪ/, X-SAMPA: /naI/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ

Adjective

nigh (comparative nigher or more nigh, superlative nighest or most nigh)

1. (archaic, poetic) near, close by, almost

   The end is nigh!

   • a. 1831, Ludovico Ariosto, William Stewart Rose (translator), Orlando Furioso, 2006, Echo Library, page 185,

     He at his head took aim who stood most nigh;

   • 1831, John Knox, The History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland, page 421,

     By these and many histories more, it is most evident, that the more nigh salvation and deliverance approach, the more vehement is temptation and trouble.

   • 1834, Davy Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, page 197,

     The enemy, somewhat imboldened, draws nigher to the fort.

   • 1889, House of Commons of Canada, Debates: Official Report, Volume 2, page 1408,

     You then went to St. Andrews, the nighest ocean port.

Usage notes

• Nigh is an older form of near. Near was originally the comparative form of nigh; the superlative form was next. Nigh is used today mostly in archaic, poetic, or regional contexts.

Synonyms

• (near): close, close by, close to, near

Related terms

• near
• next
• neighbor

Translations

near, close by

• Dutch: dichtbij (nl), nabij (nl), naderbij (nl)
• Finnish: lähellä (fi)
• French: proche (fr)
• German: nahe (de), nah bei (de)
• Greek: κοντά (el) (kontá) 
• Lithuanian: arti (lt), šalia (lt)

• Persian: نزدیک (fa) (nazdik)
• Polish: bliski (pl) m
• Russian: ближний (ru) (blížnij) , близкий (ru) (blízkij) 
• Serbo-Croatian: blizu (sh), u blizini (sh)
• Spanish: cerca (es)
• Swedish: nära (sv), när (sv)
• Turkish: yakın (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Portuguese: perto (pt), próximo (pt), quase (pt)

Verb

nigh (third-person singular simple present nighs, present participle nighing, simple past and past participle nighed)

1. To draw nigh (to); to approach; to come near.

   night is nighing, death is nighing

   nighing his hour

   a death-nighing moan

Quotations

• For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.

Translations

to approach

• Bulgarian: доближавам се (bg) (dobližavam se) , приближавам се (bg) (približavam se) 
• Finnish: lähestyä (fi)
• French: s'approcher (fr)

• Persian: نزدیک شدن (fa) (nazdik ŝodan)
• Russian: близиться (ru) (blizit'sja) , приближаться (ru) (približát'sja) 
• Swedish: närma (sv)
• Turkish: yaklaşmak (tr)

Adverb

nigh (not comparable)

1. almost, nearly

   Achieving the summit in a single day is well-nigh impossible.

Usage notes

• Nigh is sometimes used as a combining form.

Quotations

• For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.

Derived terms

• well-nigh
• nigh on
• nigh-well

Translations

almost; nearly

• Finnish: lähes (fi)
• German: beinahe (de), nahezu (de)
• Persian: نزدیک (fa) (nazdik)
• Polish: blisko (pl)

• Russian: почти (ru) (počtí) , приблизительно (ru) (priblizítel’no) 
• Spanish: cercano (es)
• Swedish: nästan (sv), närpå (sv)
• Turkish: neredeyse (tr)

Preposition

nigh

1. near; close to

   When the Moon is horned ... is it not ever nigh the Sun?

Translations

near, close to

• Finnish: lähellä (fi)
• Persian: نزدیک (fa) (nazdik)

• Russian: близко (ru) (blízko) , возле (ru) (vózle) , около (ru) (ókolo) , рядом (ru) (rjádom) 

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Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA: [nʲiː] or [nʲɪɟ]

Verb

nigh (present analytic níonn, future analytic nífidh, verbal noun ní, past participle nite)

1. to wash

Conjugation

First Conjugation (C)

		singular			plural			autonomous
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative	present	ním	níonn tú; nír†	níonn sé, sí	nímid	níonn sibh	níonn siad; níd†	nitear
	past	nigh mé; níos†	nigh tú; nís†	nigh sé, sí	níomar	nigh sibh; níobhar†	nigh siad; níodar†	níodh
	future	nífidh mé; nífead†	nífidh tú; nífir†	nífidh sé, sí	nífimid; nífeam†	nífidh sibh	nífidh siad; nífid†	nífear
	past habitual	nínn	niteá	níodh sé, sí	nimis	níodh sibh	nidís	nití
imperative		ním	nigh	níodh sé, sí	nímis	nígí	nídís	nitear
conditional		nífinn	nífeá	nífeadh sé, sí	nífimis	nífeadh sibh	nífidís	nífí
subjunctive	present	ní mé; níod†	ní tú; nír†	ní sé, sí	nímid	ní sibh	ní siad; níd†	nitear
	past	nínn	niteá	níodh sé, sí	nímis	níodh sibh	nídís	nití
verbal noun		ní
past participle		nite

† Dialect form

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Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɲiː/

Etymology

From Old Irish nigid ‘he washes’, from Proto-Indo-European *neigʷ- ‘to wash’ (compare English nixie ‘water sprite’, Ancient Greek νίζω (nízein)).

Verb

nigh

1. to wash, bathe

Participles

Tense \ Voice	Active	Passive
Present	a' nighe	--
Past	nigh	nigheadh
Future	nighidh	nighear
Conditional	nigheadh	nighteadh