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well-nigh

adv
/ˌwɛlˈnaɪ/US

Etymology

From Middle English wel-neigh (“physically close to; near in time to; almost, nearly; closely”) [and other forms], from Old English wel nēah, wel nēh, from wel (“well”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₁- (“to choose; to want”)) + nēah, nēh (“close, near”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to attain, reach”)). Synchronically a univerbation of well (“completely, fully; to a significant degree”) + nigh (“close by, near”).

  1. inherited from *h₂neḱ-✻ — “to attain, reach”
  2. inherited from *welh₁-✻ — “to choose; to want”
  3. inherited from wel nēah
  4. inherited from wel-neigh — “physically close to; near in time to; almost, nearly; closely”

Definitions

  1. Almost, nearly.

    • The ſame ſo ſore annoyed has the Knight, / That welnigh choked with the deadly ſtinke, / His forces faile, ne can no lenger fight.
    • The household cock had given his first summons, and the night was well nigh spent.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for well-nigh. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA