njúgen (Saterland Frisian)

Where does "njúgen" come from?

The Saterland Frisian word 'njúgen', meaning 'nine'[1], descends from Old Frisian 'niūgun'[1], which goes back to Proto-West Germanic '*neun'[1]. This further traces to Proto-Germanic '*newun'[2][3], originating from Proto-Indo-European '*h₁néwn̥'[4].

Open questions

• The Proto-Germanic form '*newun' developed from earlier '*newunt' through the addition of a 't' influenced by '*tehun', alongside a disputed variant '*negun'. [4]
• One theory connects the Proto-Indo-European base to the adjective '*néwos', while another suggests it derives from an old primary noun meaning 'lack'. [5]

Full etymology tree

• njúgen (Saterland Frisian), 'nine'
  • inherited niugun (Old Frisian), 'nine'
    • inherited *neun (Proto-West Germanic), 'nine'
      • inherited *newun (Proto-Germanic), 'nine'
        • inherited *newunt (Proto-Germanic)
          • influenced by *tehun (Proto-Germanic), 'ten'
          • inherited *h₁néwn̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'nine'
    • inherited *newun (Proto-Germanic), 'nine'
      • inherited *newunt (Proto-Germanic)
        • influenced by *tehun (Proto-Germanic), 'ten'
        • inherited *h₁néwn̥ (Proto-Indo-European), 'nine'

Ancestors

• niugun (Old Frisian)
• *neun (Proto-West Germanic)

Cognates and doublets

• neun (German)
• njoggen (West Frisian)

Sources

1. njúgen (Saterland Frisian) - Wiktionary
2. niugun (Old Frisian) - Wiktionary
3. neun (Proto-West Germanic) - Wiktionary
4. newun (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
5. h₁néwn̥ (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris