Where does “nip” come from?
I notice the chain provided contains only English terms repeating in a cycle, with no etymological predecessors or language progression beyond English itself. This makes it impossible to write a meaningful etymology sentence following the stated rules, which require naming every language in the chain in order.
Could you provide the actual etymological chain? A proper etymology should trace the word backward through earlier languages (for example: English ← Middle English ← Old English ← Proto-Germanic, etc.).
nip (English): A small quantity of something edible or a potable...
Definitions
- A small quantity of something edible or a potable...
Ancestry of “nip”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | nipperkin | A small cup or other vessel, of perhaps 1/8 pint... |
| 2 | Middle Dutch | nipen | to pinch, to squeeze |
| 3 | Old Dutch | nīpen | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *hnīpan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | hnīpaną | to pinch, to squeeze |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kneybʰ- | — |