An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Nebel

by Friedrich Kluge

Nebel, m., ‘mist, fog, haze,’ from the equiv. MidHG. nëbel, OHG. nëbul; corresponding to OSax. nëbal, m., Du. nevel (in E. mist; see Mist). Goth. *nibls is wanting; allied to the OIc. compounds with nifl-, ‘darkness,’ to which njól, ‘night,’ is akin (comp. AS. nifol, ‘dark’). OHG. nëbul, from pre-Teut. nebholo-, corresponds to Gr. νεφέλη, ‘cloud, mist,’ Gr. νέφος, ‘cloud, mist,’ Lat. nĕbula, ‘mist,’ Sans. nábhas, n., ‘mist, cloud, dampness,’ OSlov. nebo (stem nebes-), n., ‘sky,’ OIr. nel, ‘cloud.’