Where does “nag” come from?

nag (German) comes from German nagen, from Middle High German nagen, from Old High German nagan, from Proto-West Germanic gnagan, from Proto-Germanic gnaganą, from Proto-Indo-European gʰnēgʰ- — to gnaw, scratch.

nag (German): singular imperative of nagen; first-person...

Definitions

  1. singular imperative of nagen; first-person...

Ancestry of “nag”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germannagento gnaw
2Middle High Germannagento gnaw
3Old High Germannagan—
4Proto-West Germanicgnaganto gnaw
5Proto-Germanicgnaganąto gnaw
6Proto-Indo-Europeangʰnēgʰ-to gnaw, scratch
Every word from Proto-Indo-European gʰnēgʰ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic gnaganą →Every word from Proto-West Germanic gnagan →