Where does “nehogy” come from?
nehogy (Hungarian) comes from Hungarian né, from Hungarian nő, from Japanese 能, from Middle Chinese 能 — talent, ability.
nehogy (Hungarian): lest
Ancestry of “nehogy”, step by step
nehogy traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Hungarian né
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Hungarian | né | look!, see! |
| 2 | Hungarian | nő | woman; female partner or lover, mistress,... |
| 3 | Japanese | 能 | Noh, a form of classical Japanese musical drama;... |
| 4 | Middle Chinese | 能 | talent, ability |
via Hungarian hogy
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Hungarian | hogy | how?; that; if, whether |
| 2 | Proto-Uralic | kuńćɜ | — |
| 3 | Proto-Uralic | ku- | who; where |