Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “nite” come from?

nite (Middle English) comes from Old English hnitu, from Proto-Germanic hnits, from Proto-Indo-European *-níd-.

Ancestry of “nite”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishhnitunit
2Proto-Germanichnitsnit, louse egg
3Proto-Indo-European*-níd-—

Words derived from “nite”

  • nit
  • nitty
  • nitpicking
  • nitpick
  • nitpicky
  • nitpicker
  • nitter
  • nitpickingly
  • nitpickiness
  • nittings
  • nittily
  • nitpickish
  • nitpickery
  • nitgrass
Every word from Proto-Indo-European *-níd- →