nighen

N1I1G2H4E1N1

verb

To come near; approach.

OriginMiddle English neiȝnen →
Scrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbnighen (third-person singular simple present nighens, present participle nighening, simple past and past participle nighened)

present singular third person nighens · participle present nighening · participle past nighened · past nighened

  1. intransitiveTo come near; approach.

    [...] with so horrible countenance, that no man dare not nighen towards him.

    1807, George Burnett, Specimens of English prose-writers
  2. transitiveTo bring near; appropriate.

    If you take an apple from the table you (1) reach forth the hand to it, (2) you close your fingers on it, (3) you nighen or bring back your hand with it.

    1886, William Barnes, A glossary of the Dorset dialect

Origin

  1. Middle Englishneiȝnen
  2. Englishnighen

From Middle English neiȝnen, equivalent to nigh + -en. Cognate with German nähnen.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

HennigNinghe
Cite this entry
APA

nighen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nighen

MLA

“nighen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nighen. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nighen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nighen.

Source: nighen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.