Meanings
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*kneygʷʰ-“to tend; incline; lean toward; bend”
- Proto-Germanic*nīhwulaz“descending; low”
- Proto-Indo-European*nébʰelos
- Proto-Germanic*nibulaz
- Proto-West Germanic*nebul
- Old Englishnēol
- Middle Englishnewel
- Englishnuel
From Middle English newel, niwel (“right down”, adverb), from Old English nēol, nȳwol, nēowol, neowol, niwol, nihol (“precipitous, headlong, prone, prostrate, obscure, deep down, low, profound, abysmal”), of uncertain origin. Possibly a variant of nifol (“dark, gloomy, obscure”), from Proto-West Germanic *nebul, from Proto-Germanic *nibulaz, *nebulaz (“mist, fog”), from Proto-Indo-European *nébʰelos, from *nébʰos (“cloud, mist, moisture”); or more likely, from Proto-Germanic *nīhwulaz (“descending; low”), from Proto-Indo-European *kneygʷʰ- (“to tend; incline; lean toward; bend”), from *ken- (“to press; pinch; kink”). If derived from *nibulaz, then cognate with Dutch nevel (“mist, fog, haze”), German Nebel (“fog, mist, haze, nebula”), Icelandic nifl (“fog, darkness”), Icelandic njól (“mist, night, darkness”), Latin nebula (“fog, cloud, vapour”), Ancient Greek νέφος (néphos, “cloud”). If derived from *nīhwulaz, then cognate Old Frisian niwul, Middle Low German nīgel, nugel, nule, nūl (“forwards; forward over”), Middle Dutch niel (“thrown forward on the ground; prostrate”) (Dutch nuul-, vernielen).
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Cite this entry
nuel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuel
“nuel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuel. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nuel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nuel.
Source: nuel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.