An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Niere

by Friedrich Kluge

Niere, feminine, ‘kidney,’ from the equivalent Middle High German nier, niere, Old High German nioro, masculine (Old High German also ‘testicle’); corresponding to Dutch nier, feminine, Middle English and Middle Low German nêre (to which are allied English kidney, Middle English kidenêre, from Anglo-Saxon *cȳ̆dneóre, *cȳ̆dneóra?, ‘kidney’; in Scandinavian nýra, ‘kidney,’ with i- mutation. If the latter indicates Gothic *niuzô, neuter, the Teutonic class has no further cognates; but if we are to assume Gothic *niurô, niurjô, corresponding forms may be found in the other Aryan languages, which have numerous terms for parts of the body in common with Teutonic; Gothic *niurô for *niwrô, *negwrô, from Pre-Teutonic *neghrôn, which is represented in Greek by an equivalent γεφρός, ‘kidney, testicle’ (φ for gh); akin further to Latin nefrones. With regard to Gothic *niu- for *niw-, *nigw-, see Au.