An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/nackt

by Friedrich Kluge

nackt, nackend, adj., ‘naked, bare, nude,’ from the equiv. MidHG. nackt, nackent, OHG. nacchut, nahhut, adj.; corresponding to Du. naakt, AS. nacod, E. naked, OIc. nǫkkverðr, Goth. naqaþs, with the same meaning; a partic. derivative (see falt) naqe-dó from pre-Teut. nogetó- (OIr. nocht, ‘naked,’ from the prim. form nokto-). In Ind. the form nagná occurs with a particip. na for ta; OSlov. nagŭ, Lith. nu̇gas, ‘naked,’ are formed without a suffix. Nothing further is known concerning the Aryan root nō̆g (allied to Lat. nûdus for *novdus, *nogvidus?), which has a bearing on the history of civilisation, since it implies the correlative ‘non-naked,’ i.e. ‘clad,’ and thus assumes that a sort of dress was worn in the primit. Aryan period. See also bar.