Where does “nest” come from?
nest (Middle English) comes from Old English nēst, from Old English nīehst, from Proto-West Germanic **nāhwist(ō), from Proto-Germanic nēhwist, from Proto-Germanic nēhw, from Proto-Germanic nēhwaz, from Proto-Indo-European h₂nḗḱwos, from Proto-Indo-European h₂neḱ- — to reach, to attain.
Ancestry of “nest”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old English | nēst | — |
| 2 | Old English | nīehst | nearest, next |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | **nāhwist(ō) | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | nēhwist | nearest, closest |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | nēhw | near, close |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | nēhwaz | near, close |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂nḗḱwos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂neḱ- | to reach, to attain |
Words derived from “nest”