nigh
近い
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
nigh は near と同根の古風な形容詞で、「時間・場所がすぐ近い」が核心。The end is nigh.「終わりは近い」という定型的で劇的な表現を手掛かりに覚えると、現代語の near との対応が明確になる。night とつづりが似るが t はなく、発音は /naɪ/。日常会話より文学・宗教調・冗談めいた表現で使われる。
Connect nigh directly with modern near: both come from the same historical word family and share the central idea of closeness. The classic memory sentence is “The end is nigh,” meaning that the end is very near in time. This phrase also captures the word’s old-fashioned, solemn, or dramatic tone. Notice that nigh is spelled like the beginning of night but has no final t and is pronounced /naɪ/. In ordinary conversation, near is usually the natural choice; use or recognize nigh mainly in literature, religious-sounding warnings, fixed expressions, and humorous imitation of dramatic speech.
nigh の類義語・関連語
nigh の語源・成り立ち Etymology
古英語 nēah（近い）に由来し、ゲルマン祖語 *nēhwaz から派生。ドイツ語 nah（近い）と同根。near も同じ語根から生まれた比較級形で、nigh が原級にあたる。古風な響きを持つが「近づく」という本来の意味を保つ語。
Nigh descends from Old English nēah, meaning “near” or “close,” and is related to Proto-Germanic forms reconstructed with the same sense. German nah is a cognate. Near developed historically from a comparative form in this word family, although it later became the ordinary English adjective and preposition. Nigh preserves the older basic form and meaning but now usually carries an archaic, literary, or deliberately dramatic flavor.
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