*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of nake

From Middle English naken (“to nake”), from Old English nacian (“to bare, strip, make naked”), from Proto-Germanic *nakwōną (“to make naked”), from Proto-Indo-European *nogʷ- (“to make naked”). Cognate with Old Norse nǫk

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In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To make naked; to bare.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English naken (“to nake”), from Old English nacian (“to bare, strip, make naked”), from Proto-Germanic *nakwōną (“to make naked”), from Proto-Indo-European *nogʷ- (“to make naked”). Cognate with Old Norse nǫkkva (“to bare, expose”). More at naked.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "naken",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to nake"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English naken (“to nake”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "nacian",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to bare, strip, make naked"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English nacian (“to bare, strip, make naked”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*nakwōną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to make naked"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *nakwōną (“to make naked”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*nogʷ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to make naked"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *nogʷ- (“to make naked”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "nǫkkva",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to bare, expose"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse nǫkkva (“to bare, expose”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "naken",
      "naken#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nacian",
      "nacian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*nakwōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/nakwōną"
    ],
    [
      "*nogʷ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/nogʷ-"
    ],
    [
      "nǫkkva",
      "nǫkkva#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "naked",
      "naked#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To make naked; to bare."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ],
      "recordId": "f5e043e8a7e85a63513349f31712b867de3f13c90cfbdecbf8434cbc962e7293",
      "rawRecordSha256": "96952ef35b36880b5e3cf711ca44d64925460a837a0c78a1e5b2da57ab0bb06c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2583550
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for nake →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bmFrZQ