*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of nep

From Middle English neppe, nepe, nepte, nept, from Old English nepte, nefte, from Latin nepeta. Compare Dutch neppe, nippe (“catnip”). Doublet of nepeta.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

Catmint, catnip; Nepeta cataria.

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

From Middle English neppe, nepe, nepte, nept, from Old English nepte, nefte, from Latin nepeta. Compare Dutch neppe, nippe (“catnip”). Doublet of nepeta.

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.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "neppe"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English neppe"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "nepte"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English nepte"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "nepeta"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin nepeta"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "neppe"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch neppe"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nepeta"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of nepeta"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "neppe",
      "neppe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nepe",
      "nepe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nepte",
      "nepte#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nept",
      "nept#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nepte",
      "nepte#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "nefte",
      "nefte#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nepeta",
      "nepeta#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "neppe",
      "neppe#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "nippe",
      "nippe#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "nepeta",
      "nepeta#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Catmint, catnip; Nepeta cataria."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A knot in a fibre.

verb

Of cotton: to form knots.

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

Perhaps a variant of nap for knap, from Middle English knep, kneppe, knappe, a conflation of Old English cnep, cnæp, cnæpp (“top, knop, summit”) and Old Norse knappr (“knob”), both from Proto-Germanic *knappaz, *knappô (“knob”), from Proto-Indo-European *gnebʰ- (“to press, tighten”), from Proto-Indo-European *gen- (“to pinch, squeeze, bend, press together, ball”). Compare also Old Norse hnappr (“button”). Related to knob.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionknepenm
  • Inherited-form mentioncnepang
  • Derivation mentionknapprnon · knob
  • Inherited-form mention*knappazgem-pro
  • Derivation mention*gnebʰ-ine-pro · to press, tighten
  • Derivation mention*gen-ine-pro · to pinch, squeeze, bend, press together, ball
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "knep"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English knep"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cnep"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cnep"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "knappr",
        "t": "knob"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse knappr (“knob”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*knappaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *knappaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gnebʰ-",
        "t": "to press, tighten"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gnebʰ- (“to press, tighten”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*gen-",
        "t": "to pinch, squeeze, bend, press together, ball"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *gen- (“to pinch, squeeze, bend, press together, ball”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "noncog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "hnappr",
        "t": "button"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse hnappr (“button”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "nap",
      "nap#English"
    ],
    [
      "knap",
      "knap#English"
    ],
    [
      "knep",
      "knep#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "kneppe",
      "kneppe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "knappe",
      "knappe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cnep",
      "cnep#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "cnæp",
      "cnæp#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "cnæpp",
      "cnæpp#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "knappr",
      "knappr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*knappaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/knappaz"
    ],
    [
      "*knappô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/knappô"
    ],
    [
      "*gnebʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gnebʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "*gen-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/gen-"
    ],
    [
      "hnappr",
      "hnappr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "knob",
      "knob#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A knot in a fibre."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "1504b91c541774ad18795358fad809a9ac480574ea14c40f657356fd84f57309",
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    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Of cotton: to form knots."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "dialectal",
        "intransitive"
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

One who engages in nepotism, usually to the one who benefits from it.

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

Clipping of nepotist.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clip of",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nepotist"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of nepotist"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "nepotist",
      "nepotist#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "One who engages in nepotism, usually to the one who benefits from it."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "derogatory",
        "slang"
      ],
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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 nep →

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-bmVw