Etymology

From Middle English nith, nithe, from Old English nīþ ‎(“envy, hatred, enmity, rancor, spite, ill-will, jealousy, action which arises from hatred, strife, war, hostility, the effect of hatred, persecution, trouble, vexation, annoyance, affliction, tribulation, grief, evil, wickedness, malice, an instance of wickedness or malice, enmity, attack, oppression”), from Proto-Germanic *nīþą ‎(“zeal, envy, hatred, fight”), from Proto-Indo-European *neyt- ‎(“to revile”). Cognate with Dutch nijd ‎(“envy”), German Neid ‎(“envy, jealousy”), Swedish regional nid ‎(“hatred, envy”), Icelandic níð ‎(“hatred, envy”).