eldertongue

Old English · adverb

nihtes

Part of speech
adverb
IPA
/ˈnix.tes/
[ˈniç.tes]
Syllables
ˈnix · tes (2 syllables)
Modern English
nightsat night

Meaning

  1. at night

    Hwæt cwist þū, sweostor? Ne mæġ iċ nāteshwōn būtan mynstre nihtes wunian.

    What are you saying, sister? Ain't no way I can stay outside the monastery at night.

    c. 992, Ælfric, St. Benedict, Abbot

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *nahtas (“at night”), derived from *naht (“night”) but with the ending taken from *dagas (“during the day”), an adverbial use of the genitive of *dag (Old English dæġ). Cognate with Old Frisian nachtes, Old Saxon nahtes, Old High German nahtes (German nachts).

Descendants

nights

Historical citations

  1. Hé nihtes on ungearwe hî on bestæl, Ors. 1

    S. 46, 34.

  2. Hit hagolade seofon niht dæges and nihtes

    S. 234, 6.

  3. Dæges and niehtes hié fundiað

    Past. 127, 20.

Cognates

Old Frisian nachtes, Old Saxon nahtes, Old High German nahtes

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/nihtes · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution · Report a problem with this entry