nief
A serf or bondsman born into servitudeA serf or bondsman born into servitude.
Meaning
4 senses(historical)A serf or bondsman born into servitude.
Sklave, Leibeigene
рабrab, раба́rabá
(Ireland, Northern England, Scotland)A clenched hand; fist.
(Ireland, Northern England, Scotland)A handful or fistful.
(Ireland, Northern England, Scotland)The handgrip of a sword or oar.
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Old French [Term?], from Latin nativus (“natural”). Doublet of naif and native. FromFrom Old French [Term?], from Latin nativus (“natural”). Doublet of naif and native.
From Middle English neve (“the clenched hand, fist”), from Old Norse nefi, hnefi (also knefi) ("hand, fist, handful"), from Proto-Germanic *hnefô, from Proto-Indo-European *knep- (“to scrape, scratch, grind”), from Proto-Indo-European *ken- (“to scratch, scrape”). Cognate with Scots neif (“fist”), Norwegian neve, Danish næve, Swedish näve, Middle High German nevemez (“handful”).
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