neyen

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English hnǣġan, from Proto-West Germanic *hnaijan, from Proto-Germanic *hnajjaną.

Alternative forms

• neye, nye, nyen, nyȝen
• naye, ney, nehyn, nyȝe, nyghe (Late Middle English)
• nee (Catholicon Anglicum); neyyn (Promptorium Parvulorum)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnæi̯ən/
• IPA^(key): /nɛi̯/, /nɛ̞ː/ (Northern)

Verb

neyen (third-person singular simple present neyeth, present participle neyinge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle neyed)

1. To neigh (of a horse, hippopotamus, or centaur)
2. (of humans) To approximate a horse's neigh.

Conjugation

Conjugation of neyen (weak in -ed)

infinitive	(to) neyen, neye
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	neye	neyed
2nd-person singular	neyest	neyedest
3rd-person singular	neyeth	neyed
subjunctive singular	neye
imperative singular		—
plural1	neyen, neye	neyeden, neyede
imperative plural	neyeth, neye	—
participles	neyynge, neyende	neyed, yneyed

¹ Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: neigh
• Middle Scots: ney, nee, nie, nye

References

• “neighen, v.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Numeral

neyen

1. alternative form of nyne