Where does “nitty” come from?
I appreciate the detailed instructions, but I need to flag a significant issue with this etymological chain: it appears malformed or incomplete. The chain provided doesn't coherently connect "nitty" (English) to "nit" (English) through the Latin and PIE elements listed. The progression from "nitere," "nitor," and the suffix chains (-ia, -ivus, -ia, -kos, -kos) doesn't establish a clear path to either "nit" or "nitty." Additionally: - "Nit" (the louse egg) has a different, well-documented etymology (Old English *hnitu*, related to German *Niss*) - "Nitty" as in "nitty-gritty" has uncertain origins, possibly slang with no established formal etymology - The chain seems to confuse "nit" with "nitid-" (meaning sh
nitty (English): Full of nits; Foolish, inane; A dope fiend, a...
Definitions
- Full of nits; Foolish, inane; A dope fiend, a...
Ancestry of “nitty”, step by step
nitty traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English nitty-gritty
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | nitty-gritty | The core or essence of something; the details |
| 2 | English | gritty | Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit;... |
| 3 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 4 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 5 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |