Etymograph

English

nod

Nod comes from Middle English nodden.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nodden1
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1818nod1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English nod
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1818, John Keats, Book I: “By every wind that nods the mountain pine.”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500noddenWiktionary, English nod
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1818nodWiktionary, English nod. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1818, John Keats, Book I: “By every wind that nods the mountain pine.”

The story

From Middle English nodden, probably from an unrecorded Old English *hnodian (‘to nod, shake the head’), from Proto-West Germanic *hnodōn, from Proto-Germanic *hnudōną (‘to beat, rivet, pound, push’), from Proto-Indo-European *kendʰ-, from *ken- (‘to scratch, scrape, rub’).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ken- ‘to scratch, scrape, rub’

recent, incinerate, recency, cinerea, nosh, nookie, 20 more

Today it means

verb To incline the head up and down, as to indicate agreement.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nod”. 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 / Middle English nodden / nod

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