"N" Word Origins

necktie

Origin

From neck + tie.

necrology

Origin

From necro- + -logy.

necromancer

Greek

Formed from "necromancy" (from Greek nekros "corpse" + manteia "divination") plus the agent suffix -er.

necromancy

Greek

From Greek nekros "dead body" plus manteia "divination", reaching English through Latin and Old French. The medieval Latin form was reshaped as nigromantia, "black divination", which is why the idea of "black magic" attached to the word.

necrophage

Origin

Composed by necro- + -phage, from Ancient Greek νεκροφάγος (nekrophágos), from νεκρός (nekrós, “cadaver”) and φάγος (phágos, “one who eats”).

necropolis

Origin

Borrowed from Koine Greek νεκρόπολις (nekrópolis, “city of the dead, cemetery”) (used to describe part of the city of Alexandria, Egypt), from Ancient Greek νεκρός (nekrós, “dead”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *neḱ- (“to disappear; to perish”)) + πόλις (pólis, “city”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tpelH- (“city; fortification”)). The English word is analysable as necro- + -polis, and is cognate with French nécropole, German Nekropolis, Late Latin necropolis. The plural form necropoleis is derived from Ancient Greek νεκροπόλεις (nekropóleis).

necropsy

Origin

From necro- + -opsy.

necrosis

Greek

From Greek nekrōsis, from nekros ("corpse, dead").

nectar

Greek

From Greek nektar, said to mean "drink of the gods" — from a root meaning "to overcome death."

nectarine

Origin

From nectar + -ine.

nectarous

Origin

From nectar + -ous.

ned

Origin

Origin uncertain — often claimed as an acronym for "non-educated delinquent," but that's a later invented backronym, not the real source. It may be linked to the given name Ned (a nickname for Edward), though the connection isn't confirmed.

neddy

Origin

From "Ned" (a nickname for Edward) + -y, following the old habit of giving animals human nicknames.

nee

French

Borrowed from French née, the feminine past participle of naître ("to be born").

need

Old English

From Old English nēod and nīed, two related words meaning "desire/longing" and "necessity/compulsion," which merged into modern English "need."

needed

Origin

The past participle of "need" used as an adjective.

needful

Old English

From Old English nēodful, from need + -ful.

needfully

Origin

From Middle English nedefully; equivalent to needful + -ly.

neediness

Origin

From Middle English nedynesse; equivalent to needy + -ness.

needle

Old English

From Old English nǣdl, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to spin or twist" — related to modern German Nadel.

needlefish

Origin

From needle + fish.

needlepoint

Origin

From needle + point.

Needles

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

needless

Origin

From need + -less.

needlessly

Origin

From needless + -ly.

needlework

Origin

From needle + work.

needs

Old English

From Old English nēdes ("of necessity"), an old adverbial form of "need."

needy

Old English

From Old English nēdiġ, from "need" + -y.

nefarious

Latin

From Latin nefarius, "wicked" — built from ne- ("not") and fas ("what is right in the eyes of the gods").

nefastous

Origin

From Latin nefastus.

Nefertiti

Origin

From Egyptian, meaning roughly "the beautiful one has come."

Neff

Origin

* As a German, Alemannic German and Jewish surname, from the noun Neffe (“nephew”). * Americanized variant of Naff. * As a Dutch surname, variant of Neve, related to the nephew sense above. * As an Irish surname, shortened from McNeff, McNiff.

negate

Latin

From Latin negatus, the past participle of negare, "to deny."

negation

Origin

From Middle English negacioun, from Old French negacion, from Latin negātiō (“a denial; negative word”). Morphologically negate + -ion.

negative

Latin

From Latin negativus, "that denies," from negare, "to deny" — the root behind negate.

negativist

Origin

From negative + -ist.

negentropy

Origin

From nega- + entropy. A blend of negative + entropy, coined by the French physicist Léon Brillouin (1889–1969). The term negative entropy was introduced by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) in his book What is Life? (1944, based on lectures delivered in February 1943).

neglect

Latin

From Latin neglectus, "disregarded," from neg- ("not") + legere ("to pick up, pay heed to").

neglectful

Origin

From neglect + -ful.

negligence

Latin

From Latin neglegentia, "carelessness," related to neglegere, "to disregard."

negligent

Middle English

From Middle English necligent, negligent, from Old French negligent, from Latin negligēns.

negligible

Origin

Built from negligence/negligent plus the suffix -ible, "able to be."

negotiant

Origin

From French négociant, or its source, Latin negōtiant-, probably via Italian negoziante (“merchant”).

negotiate

Latin

From Latin negotiari, "to do business," from negotium ("business"), itself from nec ("not") + otium ("leisure").

negotiation

Latin

From Latin negotiatio, "the carrying on of business," from negotiari, "to do business."

negotiator

Latin

Borrowed from Latin negōtiātor (“merchant, banker”), equivalent to negotiate + -or.

negro

Latin

From Spanish/Portuguese negro, "black," from Latin niger.

negus

Amharic

The royal title is from Amharic nəgus, "king", from a Semitic root meaning "to reign". The drink is a separate word, named after an Englishman called Negus who is traditionally credited with the recipe.