Names and Etymology
The names are held to derive from Common Germanic *nikwus or *nikwis(i), derived from PIE *neigw ("wash"). It is related to Sanskrit nḗnēkti ("wash"), Greek νίζω nízō and νίπτω níptō, and Irish nigther.
The form neck appears in English and Swedish (näck or nek). The Swedish form is derived from Old Swedish neker, which corresponds to Old Icelandic nykr (gen. nykrs), and nykk in Norwegian Nynorsk. In Finnish, the word is näkki. In Old Danish, the form was nikke and in modern Danish and Norwegian Bokmål it is nøk(ke). The Icelandic nykur is a horselike creature.
In Middle Low German, it was called necker and in Middle Dutch nicker (c.f. also Nickel or Nikkel" plus Kobolt) . The Old High German form nihhus also meant "crocodile", while the Old English nicor could mean both a "water monster" and a "hippopotamus".
Common bynames are the Swedish Strömkarlen and the Norwegian Fossegrim. Since the Scandinavian version can transform himself into a horse-like kelpie, he is also called Bäckahästen (the "brook horse").
Read more about this topic: Neck (water Spirit)
Famous quotes containing the words names and/or etymology:
“It was a poetic recreation to watch those distant sails steering for half-fabulous ports, whose very names are a mysterious music to our ears.... It is remarkable that men do not sail the sea with more expectation. Nothing was ever accomplished in a prosaic mood.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)