nigh
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L18050 on Wikidata ↗adverb
- almost
preposition
- near
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /naɪ/
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- Proto-Germanic *nēhwazder. Proto-Germanic *nēhw Proto-West Germanic *nāhw Old English nēah Middle English neygh English nigh Inherited from Middle English neygh, from Old English nēah, from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw, from *nēhwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”).
- Near, close by.
“The end is nigh!”
“Daybreak is drawing nigh.”
- Not remote in degree, kindred, circumstances, etc.; closely allied; intimate.
“Ye […] are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
adv
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- Proto-Germanic *nēhwazder. Proto-Germanic *nēhw Proto-West Germanic *nāhw Old English nēah Middle English neygh English nigh Inherited from Middle English neygh, from Old English nēah, from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw, from *nēhwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”).
- Almost, nearly.
“So, after a spell, he decided to make the best of it and shoved us into the front parlor.[…]It looked like a tomb and smelt pretty nigh as musty and dead-and-gone.”
“Hell of a surprise in the seventh season premiere of Game Of Thrones. Arya Stark, fresh off a nigh Cersei-level ambush of the Frey household, comes upon a small campfire surrounded by fresh-faced red cloaks.”
name
Etymology: * As an English surname, variant of Nye. * As a German surname, probably Americanized from Neu, Ney.
- A surname.
- A surname.
prep
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- Proto-Germanic *nēhwazder. Proto-Germanic *nēhw Proto-West Germanic *nāhw Old English nēah Middle English neygh English nigh Inherited from Middle English neygh, from Old English nēah, from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw, from *nēhwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”).
- near; close to
“When the Moon is horned […] is it not ever nigh the Sun?”
“The cottage stood nigh the burn, in a little garden, with lilyoaks and grosart bushes lining the pathway.”
verb
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- Proto-Germanic *nēhwazder. Proto-Germanic *nēhw Proto-West Germanic *nāhw Old English nēah Middle English neygh English nigh Inherited from Middle English neygh, from Old English nēah, from Proto-West Germanic *nāhw, from Proto-Germanic *nēhw, from *nēhwaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach”).
- to draw nigh (to); to approach; to come near
“When the charnel-eyed Pale Horse has nighed”