Etymograph

English

neist

Neist comes from Old English nēah ‘nearest, next’, from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw ‘near, close’, 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. 450–1150nēah2as nīehst, variants‘nearest, next’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150nēst2
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nest2
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1785neist2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English neah
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English neist
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1785, Robert Burns: “The bonniest lass that ye meet neist, Gie her…”.

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, English neistas nīehst, variants‘nearest, next’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150nēstWiktionary, English neist
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nestWiktionary, English neist
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1785neistWiktionary, English neist. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1785, Robert Burns: “The bonniest lass that ye meet neist, Gie her…”

Linked words

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

neighbour, 1 more

through Old English nēah ‘nearest, next’

next, near, nigh, 1 more

through Middle English nest

nest

Today it means

adj —

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “neist”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Old English neah. 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- / neist

Shirt and support for this word