< Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic

Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/nehw

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *nekʷe. Equivalent to *ne +‎ *-hw. Cognate with Latin neque (“nor”), Proto-Celtic *nekʷe.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈnexʷ/

Conjunction

*nehw

  1. nor, and not

Descendants
  • Proto-West Germanic: *nehw, *nehu, *neh[1][2]
    • ⇒ Proto-West Germanic: *nehwain, *nehain
      • Old Saxon: nihēn, niēn, nigēn
      • Old Dutch: nehein, ghein, chein
        • Middle Dutch: negeen, gein
      • Old High German: nehein, nihein
        • Middle High German: nehein, nihein, nechein, nichein
          • ⇒ Middle High German: kein (merger of Middle High German nechein and dechein)
    • ⇒ Proto-West Germanic: *nehwan (conjunction)
  • Old Norse: né
  • Gothic: 𐌽𐌹𐌷 (nih)[2]

References
  1. Agnes Jäger, German indefinite determiners in the scope of negation, in Nominal Determination: Typology, Context Constraints, and Historical Emergence (2007, →ISBN, says: "The etymology of nihein(ig) has been subject to some discussion in the literature. Braune/Reiffenstein (2004: 254, 151) postulate a composition of *nih+ein, where *nih is a neg-element. However, this element is not attested anywhere in isolation. According to Bech (1964: 213), Danielsen (1968: 93f.), and more recently Lloyd et al. (1998: 562f.), nih-/neh- can be linked to Indogermanic *ne-kʷe 'and not'."
  2. Gerhard Köbler's Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch derives Olg High German nihein and Gothic nih from Proto-Germanic nehw and derives that from PIE *nekʷe, which it notations *neku̯e.
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