Etymograph

English

nest

Nest comes from Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-1‘to sit’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nisdós1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nestą1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nest1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nest1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nest1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1724nest1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English nest
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1724, Charles Johnson pseudonym, Nov. 16: “Capt. Kirby and I concluding it might be of…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-Wiktionary, English nest‘to sit’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*nisdósWiktionary, English nestreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nestąWiktionary, English nestreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nestWiktionary, English nestreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nestWiktionary, English nest
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nestWiktionary, English nest
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1724nestWiktionary, English nest. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1724, Charles Johnson pseudonym, Nov. 16: “Capt. Kirby and I concluding it might be of…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’

set, president, size, sell, sit, sitting, seat, method, chair, session, settle, resident, siege, saddle, assess, possess, exodus, subsidy, sedan, sediment, reside, residual, residue, insidious, sedentary, dissident, prasad, cathode, soot, sedative, setter, anode, sedate, beset, chaise, obsess, sate, presidio, seance, ersatz, 91 more

through Proto-Indo-European *nisdós

niche, nye, nidal, nias, 6 more

Another origin of nest

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nestąreconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nest‘a nest’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nistijan‘to nest, build a nest’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150nistan
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nesten
  6. Englishtodaynest

Today it means

noun A structure built by a bird as a place to incubate eggs and rear young.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nest”. 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 *sed- / nest

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