Etymograph

English

fornigh

Fornigh comes from Old English fornēah ‘very nearly, almost, about’, from nēah ‘close, near’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- ‘to reach’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂neḱ-1‘to reach’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwaz1‘nigh, near, close’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhw1‘near, close’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nāhw1‘near, close’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nēah2‘close, near’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150fornēah3‘very nearly, almost, about’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forneh3
  8. Englishtodayfornigh3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English neah
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English forneah
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English fornigh

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂neḱ-Wiktionary, Old English neah‘to reach’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwazWiktionary, Old English neah‘nigh, near, close’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwWiktionary, Old English neah‘near, close’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nāhwWiktionary, Old English neah‘near, close’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nēahWiktionary, Old English forneah‘close, near’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150fornēahWiktionary, English fornigh‘very nearly, almost, about’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fornehWiktionary, English fornigh
  8. EnglishtodayfornighWiktionary, English fornigh

Formed from for- + nigh

Proto-Indo-European *pro- ‘before, in front of’

Proto-Germanic *fra- ‘off, away’

Proto-West Germanic *fra- ‘forms verbs with the sense of "away from" or…’

English for-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- ‘to reach’

…

Proto-Germanic *nēhw ‘near, close’

Proto-West Germanic *nāhw ‘near, close’

Old English nēah ‘close, near’

Middle English neygh ‘Physically near or adjacent’

English nigh

Linked words

through Proto-Germanic *nēhwaz ‘nigh, near, close’

neighbour, 2 more

through Old English nēah ‘close, near’

next, near, 2 more

Today it means

adv Very near

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fornigh”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English neah, Old English forneah. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- / fornigh

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