Where does “nu” come from?
nu (Esperanto) comes from Polish no, from Polish ano, from Polish jeno, from Old Polish jéno, from French gène, from Middle French gehenne, from Old French gehine, from Old French gehir — to utter.
nu (Esperanto): well
Definitions
- well
Ancestry of “nu”, step by step
nu traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Polish no
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Polish | no | yeah, yep; Emphatic particle used with... |
| 2 | Polish | ano | yes, indeed |
| 3 | Polish | jeno | just, only |
| 4 | Old Polish | jéno | only, just |
| 5 | French | gène | gene |
| 6 | Middle French | gehenne | — |
| 7 | Old French | gehine | punishment resulting from admission of guilt;... |
| 8 | Old French | gehir | to admit, confess, acknowledge |
| 9 | Frankish | jehhjan | to say, confess |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | jehaną | to speak, say, express |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yék-e-ti | — |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | yek- | to utter |
via Russian ну
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian | ну | well; yeah, yep |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | νόος | mind; an act of mind; the sense or meaning of a... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | σφαῖρα | ball, globe, sphere |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ειδής | like, connected to, from the nature of, full of;... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ής | adjective suffix |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |
via Swedish nå
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | nå | to reach, attain; well? "encouragement to... |
| 2 | Old Swedish | na | — |
| 3 | Old Norse | ná | to get hold of, reach, overtake; to get, obtain;... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nēhwijaną | to approach, to come near |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | nēhwaz | near, close |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂nḗḱwos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂neḱ- | to reach, to attain |