Where does “nipper” come from?
nipper (Dutch) comes from Dutch nippen, from Dutch nijpen, from Middle Dutch nipen, from Old Dutch nīpen, from Proto-Germanic *hnīpan, from Proto-Germanic hnīpaną, from Proto-Indo-European kneybʰ-.
Ancestry of “nipper”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Dutch | nippen | to sip, take a nip |
| 2 | Dutch | nijpen | to pinch, squeeze |
| 3 | Middle Dutch | nipen | to pinch, to squeeze |
| 4 | Old Dutch | nīpen | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *hnīpan | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | hnīpaną | to pinch, to squeeze |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kneybʰ- | — |
Words derived from “nipper”