Where does “nai” come from?
nai (Middle English) comes from Old Norse nei, from Proto-Germanic nai, from Proto-Indo-European né — not; no.
Ancestry of “nai”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | nei | no |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | nai | never |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | né | not; no |