An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Nessel
Nessel, feminine, ‘nettle,’ from the equivalent Middle High German neȥȥel, Old High German nęȥȥila, feminine; corresponding to Middle Low German and Dutch netel, Anglo-Saxon nętele, feminine, English nettle; allied to earlier Old High German equivalent naȥȥa (the same as Icelandic nǫtr?), ‘nettle.’ Gothic *natus, feminine, and *natilô, feminine, ‘nettle,’ are by chance not recorded. Since the High German word can never lave had an initial h before the n., Greek κνίδη, ‘stinging nettle,’ cannot be regarded as a cognate. The word has more correctly been connected with the common Teutonic Netz (Gothic nati), on the assumption that nets in early times were made of nettle-threads. Further cognates are wanting. The term has also been compared with Prussian noatis, Lithuanian noterė, and Old Irish nenaid.