niet

From Middle Dutch niwet, niet, from Old Dutch *niowiht, niewiht, from nio (“never”) + wiht (“thing, creature”). The former in turn derives from Proto-Germanic *ne (“not”) + *aiw- (“ever”) + *wiht- (“thing”).

It was originally a pronoun meaning "not a thing", and was later used to reinforce a regular negation. The pronomial meaning was lost in Middle Dutch. English not, and its older forms naught and nought, were formed in the same way, but "not" also lost its sense as a pronoun and became a negation adverb as in Dutch.

• IPA^(key): /nit/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /ni/ (often, in fast speech)
• Rhymes: -it

• audio

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niet

1. Not, no: used to express negation.

   Niet storen!

   Do not disturb!

   Dat is niet waar.

   That is not true.

   Antonym: wel

• niet eens
• nog niet

• Afrikaans: nie

niet f (plural nieten, diminutive nietje n)

1. staple

The word is commonly used in the diminutive form

• nietmachine

See the etymology of the main entry.

niet

1. first-, second- and third-person singular present indicative of nieten
2. imperative of nieten

• tien

From Old Dutch niewiht.

niet

1. not

• nicht
• niewet

• Dutch: niet
• Limburgish: neet

niet

1. nothing

• “niet (III)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “niet (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

• nyit (continental Normandy)
• gniet, gniaette (Guernsey)

From Old French noit, nuit, from Latin noctem, accusative of nox, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.

• Audio (Jersey)

  (file)

niet f (plural niets)

1. (Jersey, Guernsey) night
   • 2006, Peggy Collenette, ‘Célébraïr 25 onnaïes’, P'tites Lures Guernésiaises, Cromwell Press 2006, p. 18:

     La Marie et Jimmin dormisirent toute la niet et Jimmin s'éville au matin dauve l'épile à sen naïz.

     Marie and Jimmy slept all night and Jimmy woke up in the morning with the peg on his nose.