nigh

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See also: Nigh

English

WOTD – 16 October 2011

Etymology

From Middle English neygh, nygh, nye, nyȝ, from Old English nēah, nēh, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw. Cognate with Dutch na (“close, near”), German nah (“close, near, nearby”), Luxembourgish no (“nearby, near, close”). See also near.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /naɪ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (AU):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪ

Adjective

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

  1. (archaic, poetic) near, close by
    The end is nigh!
  2. Not remote in degree, kindred, circumstances, etc.; closely allied; intimate.
    • (Can we date this quote by Knolles and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      nigh kinsmen
    • Bible, Eph. ii. 13
      Ye […] are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Usage notes

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

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

  1. (transitive, intransitive) to draw nigh (to); to approach; to come near
    • (Can we date this quote by Thomas Hardy and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      When the charnel-eyed Pale Horse has nighed

Alternative forms

Quotations

Translations

Adverb

nigh (not comparable)

  1. Almost, nearly.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 12, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor. […] It looked like a tomb and smelt pretty nigh as musty and dead-and-gone.
    • 2017 July 16, Brandon Nowalk, “Chickens and dragons come home to roost on Game Of Thrones (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club‎[1]:
      Hell of a surprise in the seventh season premiere of Game Of Thrones. Arya Stark, fresh off a nigh Cersei-level ambush of the Frey household, comes upon a small campfire surrounded by fresh-faced red cloaks.

Usage notes

  • Nigh is sometimes used as a combining form.

Quotations

Derived terms

Translations

Preposition

nigh

  1. near; close to
    • 1661-5, Thomas Salusbury (translator), Galileo Galilei, Dialogue concerning the Two Chief World Systems, 1632
      When the Moon is horned […] is it not ever nigh the Sun?

Translations

Anagrams

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish nigid (“he washes”), from Proto-Indo-European *neygʷ- (“to wash”).

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "Munster" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. /nʲɪɟ/
  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 331: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "Connacht" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): (imperative) /n̠ʲiː/, (analytic past indicative) /nʲiː/

Verb

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

  1. (transitive, intransitive) wash

Conjugation

conjugation of nigh (first conjugation – C)
singular plural relative autonomous
first second third first second third
indicative present ním níonn tú;
nír† 		níonn sé, sí nímid níonn sibh níonn siad;
níd† 		a níonn; a níos nitear
past nigh mé; níos nigh tú;
nís 		nigh sé, sí níomar; nigh muid nigh sibh; níobhair nigh siad; níodar a nigh /
ar nigh* 		níodh
past habitual nínn niteá níodh sé, sí nimis; níodh muid níodh sibh nidís; níodh siad a níodh /
a níodh* 		nití
future nífidh mé;
nífead 		nífidh tú;
nífir† 		nífidh sé, sí nífimid;
nífidh muid 		nífidh sibh nífidh siad;
nífid† 		a nífidh; a nífeas nífear
conditional nífinn nífeá nífeadh sé, sí nífimis; nífeadh muid nífeadh sibh nífidís; nífeadh siad a nífeadh /
a nífeadh* 		nífí
subjunctive present go ní mé;
go níod† 		go ní tú;
go nír† 		go ní sé, sí go nímid;
go ní muid 		go ní sibh go ní siad;
go níd† 		— go nitear
past dá nínn dá niteá dá níodh sé, sí dá nimis;
dá níodh muid 		dá níodh sibh dá nidís;
dá níodh siad 		— dá nití
imperative ním nigh níodh sé, sí nímis nígí;
nídh† 		nídís — nitear
verbal noun ní
past participle nite

* indirect relative
† archaic or dialect form

References

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish nigid (“he washes”), from Proto-Indo-European *neygʷ- (“to wash”) (compare English nixie (“water sprite”), Ancient Greek νίζω (nízō)).

Verb

nigh (past nigh, future nighidh, verbal noun nighe, past participle nighte)

  1. wash, cleanse, purify
  2. bathe

Inflection

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

Etymology 2

Noun

nigh f (genitive singular nighe)

  1. daughter
  2. niece

References

  • Edward Dwelly (1911) “nigh”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎[2], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
  • Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “nigid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
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