different between nigh vs nye

English

Etymology

From Middle English neygh, nygh, nye, ny?, from Old English n?ah, n?h, from Proto-Germanic *n?hw. Cognate with Dutch na (“close, near”), German nah (“close, near, nearby”), Luxembourgish no (“nearby, near, close”). See also near.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na?/
• Rhymes: -a?

Adjective

nigh (comparative nigher or more nigh, superlative nighest or most nigh)

1. (archaic, poetic) near, close by
   • a. 1831, Ludovico Ariosto, William Stewart Rose (translator), Orlando Furioso, 2006, Echo Library, page 185,

     He at his head took aim who stood most nigh;

   • 1831, John Knox, The History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland, page 421,

     By these and many histories more, it is most evident, that the more nigh salvation and deliverance approach, the more vehement is temptation and trouble.

   • 1834, Davy Crockett, A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett, page 197,

     The enemy, somewhat imboldened, draws nigher to the fort.

   • 1889, House of Commons of Canada, Debates: Official Report, Volume 2, page 1408,

     You then went to St. Andrews, the nighest ocean port.
2. Not remote in degree, kindred, circumstances, etc.; closely allied; intimate.

   • Ye […] are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Usage notes

• Near was originally the comparative form of nigh; the superlative form was next. Nigh is used today mostly in archaic, poetic, or regional contexts.

Synonyms

• (near): close, near; see also Thesaurus:near

Derived terms

• nighen
• nighness

Related terms

Translations

Verb

nigh (third-person singular simple present nighs, present participle nighing, simple past and past participle nighed)

1. (transitive, intransitive) to draw nigh (to); to approach; to come near
   • 1924, Thomas Hardy, He Resolves to Say No More

     When the charnel-eyed Pale Horse has nighed

Alternative forms

• ny (obsolete)

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:nigh.

Translations

Adverb

nigh (not comparable)

1. Almost, nearly.

Usage notes

• Nigh is sometimes used as a combining form.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:nigh.

Derived terms

Translations

Preposition

nigh

1. near; close to
   • 1661-5, Thomas Salusbury (translator), Galileo Galilei, Dialogue concerning the Two Chief World Systems, 1632

     When the Moon is horned […] is it not ever nigh the Sun?

Translations

Anagrams

• Hing, hing, inHg

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish nigid (“he washes”), from Proto-Indo-European *neyg?- (“to wash”).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) /n???/
• (Connacht, Ulster) IPA^(key): (imperative) /n??i?/, (analytic past indicative) /n?i?/

Verb

nigh (present analytic níonn, future analytic nífidh, verbal noun ní, past participle nite)

1. (transitive, intransitive) wash

Conjugation

Related terms

References

• "nigh" in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “nigid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?i?/

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish nigid (“he washes”), from Proto-Indo-European *neyg?- (“to wash”) (compare English nixie (“water sprite”), Ancient Greek ???? (níz?)).

Verb

nigh (past nigh, future nighidh, verbal noun nighe, past participle nighte)

1. wash, cleanse, purify
2. bathe

Inflection

Etymology 2

Noun

nigh f (genitive singular nighe)

1. daughter
2. niece

References

• “nigh” in Edward Dwelly, Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan/The Illustrated [Scottish] Gaelic–English Dictionary, 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, 1911, ?ISBN.
• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “nigid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

English

Etymology

Probably from French nid (“nest, brood”), Latin nidus (“nest”). Doublet of nidus and nest.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na?/
• Homophone: nigh

Noun

nye (plural nyes)

1. A brood or flock of pheasants.

Anagrams

• -yne, Ney, Yen, eny, ney, yen

Albanian

Noun

nye m (indefinite plural neje, definite singular neni, definite plural nejet)

1. (Gheg) Alternative form of nyjë

Danish

Adjective

nye

1. definite/plural of ny

Dumbea

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naje/

Noun

nye

1. needle

References

• Leenhardt, M. (1946) Langues et dialectes de l'Austro-Mèlanèsie. Cited in: "?Du?bea" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.
• Shintani, T.L.A. & Païta, Y. (1990) Dictionnaire de la langue de Païta, Nouméa: Sociéte d'etudes historiques de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Cited in: "Drubea" in Greenhill, S.J., Blust, R., & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

Ewe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???/

Pronoun

nye

1. I

Verb

nye

1. to swerve
2. to swing

Igbo

Verb

nyè

1. give

Northern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-mòì.

Adjective

-nye

1. one
2. another

Inflection

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

nye

1. definite singular of ny
2. plural of ny

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

nye

1. definite singular of ny
2. plural of ny

Phuthi

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-mòì.

Adjective

-nye

1. one

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Southern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-mòì.

Adjective

-nye

1. one
2. another

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Swahili

Pronunciation

Prepositional phrase

nye

1. Alternative form of naye

Swazi

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-mòì.

Adjective

-nyé

1. one

Inflection

Swedish

Adjective

nye

1. absolute definite natural masculine form of ny.

Xhosa

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-mòì.

Adjective

-nye

1. one
2. another

Inflection

Zulu

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-mòì.

Adjective

-nye

1. (with enumerative concord or copulative adjective concord) one

2. some

3. another

4. additional, more

Usage notes

• This word only means "one" when used with the enumerative concord, or with a copulative adjective concord.
• The meaning "one" is normally used only with singular nouns. It can be used with plurale tantum nouns, in the meaning "one kind of".

Inflection

Derived terms

• kanye
• ubunye

See also

• -dwa

References

• C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972) , “-nye”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, ?ISBN: “-nye”