English
neighbour
Neighbour comes from Proto-Germanic *nēhwaz ‘close, near’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- ‘to reach’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂neḱ-‘to reach’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwaz‘close, near’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwagabūrôliterally ‘near-dweller’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nāhwagabūrōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nēahġebūr
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500neighebour
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593neighbour
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂neḱ-‘to reach’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwaz‘close, near’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nēhwagabūrôliterally ‘near-dweller’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nāhwagabūrōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nēahġebūr
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500neighebour
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1593neighbour
Earliest quotation: c. 1593, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]: “Buckingham / No more shall be the neighbour to…”
A compound of nigh ‘near’ + bower ‘farmer’
Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- ‘to reach’
…
Proto-Germanic *nēhw ‘near, close’
Proto-West Germanic *nāhw ‘near, close’
Old English nēah ‘close, near’
Middle English neygh ‘Physically near or adjacent’
English nigh
Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to grow, be’
…
Proto-Germanic *būrą ‘room, abode’
Proto-West Germanic *būr
Old English būr ‘private chamber, room’
Middle English bour ‘a bedroom or chamber’
English bower
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *nēhwaz ‘close, near’
Today it means
noun A person living on adjacent or nearby land; a person situated adjacently or nearby; anything (of the same type of thing as the subject) in an adjacent or nearby position.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- / neighbour