Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Nile” come from?

Nile comes from Ancient Greek Νεῖλος, from Ancient Greek νεῖλος, a term of unknown origin referring to the great river of Egypt.

Ancestry of “Nile”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ancient Greekνεῖλοςriver valley
2Arabicنِيلindigo
3Persianنیلindigo
4Arabicنيلverbal noun of نَالَ; indigo; to colour indigo
5Middle Persian𐭭𐭩𐭫indigo
6Sanskritनीलof a dark color
7Proto-Indo-EuropeanneyH-to lead

Words derived from “Nile”

  • nilometer
  • Nile perch
  • Niloscope
  • Nilean
  • ナイル
Every word from Proto-Indo-European neyH- →