Etymology
Although the precise etymology is debated, usually related to Norw. dial
nerta 'to touch lightly', cognate with Far
nerta ‘to touch’, Sw dial
närta ‘to lash, flick at, gibe at, taunt’, Shetl.
nirt ‘little scrap, stinginess’ (and cp. Scots
nirt ‘a very small piece’) and 17c Icel
narta ‘to gnaw, crop’ (and related nouns: see Mag. s.vv. narta and nurt, nurta). Sundén (1920: 141–3) explains the
Gaw word as a borrowing from ON, probably a nominal derivative on a loaned v. < an ON
*nerta (with <i> as reflecting a tensing of short /e/ >/i/), or alternatively that ME /i/ could descend from a late OE /y/ < an ON *
nyrta < PGmc
*nurtjan-, the existence of which is perhaps indicated by the Norw variant
nørta (wk. v.) alongside
nerta (str.); or it may show the influence of the vowel in
snyrt which may represent the same Gmc root with an
s- prefix (see
OED3 and
snyrt).
PGmc Ancestor
?*nertan-, ?*nurtjan-
Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)
(ONP )
Other Scandinavian Reflexes
Far nerta, Icel narta, Norw dial nerta, Sw dial närta
OE Cognate
Phonological and morphological markers
Summary category
BB1c