Wiktionary

nest

See also: Nest, NEST, nést, and n'est

English

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /nɛst/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛst

Etymology 1

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From Middle English nest, nist, nyst, from Old English nest, from Proto-West Germanic *nest, from Proto-Germanic *nestą, from Proto-Indo-European *nisdós (“nest”), literally "where [the bird] sits down", a compound of *ni (“down”) (whence also English nether) + the zero-grade of the root *sed- (“to sit”) (whence also English sit).

 
A Taveta Golden-weaver's elaborate nest
 
Ground nest of Sprague's Pipit

Noun

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nest (plural nests)

  1. A structure built by a bird as a place to incubate eggs and rear young.
  2. A place used by another mammal, fish, amphibian or insect, for depositing eggs and hatching young.
  3. A snug, comfortable, or cosy residence or job situation.
  4. A retreat, or place of habitual resort.
  5. A hideout for bad people to frequent or haunt; a den.
    a nest of thieves
    That nightclub is a nest of strange people!
    • 1724, Charles Johnson [pseudonym], “Of Capt. Edward England, and His Crew. [A Letter from Captain Makra, dated at Bombay, Nov. 16, 1720.]”, in A General History of the Pyrates, […], 2nd edition, London: Printed for, and sold by T. Warner, […], →OCLC, page 119:
      Capt. Kirby and I concluding it might be of great Service to the Eaſt-India Company to deſtroy such a Neſt of Rogues, were ready to ſail for that Purpoſe […]
    • 1895, Frances Power Cobbe, chapter 10, in Life of Frances Power Cobbe‎[1], volume 1, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 254:
      Miss Carpenter told me that a short time previously some Bow Street constables had been sent down to this place to ferret out a crime which had been committed there, and that they reported there was not in all London such a nest of wickedness as they had explored.
  6. A home that a child or young adult shares with a parent or guardian.
    I am aspiring to leave the nest.
  7. (card games) A fixed number of cards in some bidding games awarded to the highest bidder allowing him to exchange any or all with cards in his hand.
    I was forced to change trumps when I found the ace, jack, and nine of diamonds in the nest.
  8. (military) A fortified position for a weapon.
    a machine gun nest
  9. (computing) A structure consisting of nested structures, such as nested loops or nested subroutine calls.
    • 1981, Donnamaie E. White, Bit-Slice Design: Controllers and ALU's‎[2], Garland STPM Press, →ISBN, page 49:
      Subroutine 4 cannot jump out of the subroutine nest in one step. Each return address must be popped from the stack in the order in which it was pushed onto the stack.
    • 1993 August, Bwolen Yang et al., "Do&Merge: Integrating Parallel Loops and Reductions", in Languages and Compilers for Parallel Computing (workshop proceedings), Springer (1994), →ISBN, page 178:
      Our analysis to this point has assumed that in a loop nest, we are only parallelizing a single loop.
  10. A circular bed of pasta, rice, etc. to be topped or filled with other foods.
  11. (geology) An aggregated mass of any ore or mineral, in an isolated state, within a rock.
  12. A collection of boxes, cases, or the like, of graduated size, each put within the one next larger.
  13. A compact group of pulleys, gears, springs, etc., working together or collectively.
  14. (vulgar, slang, now US) The pubic hair near a vulva or a vulva itself.
    Synonyms: beav, beaver
Quotations
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Derived terms
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Terms derived from nest (noun)
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Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

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From Middle English nesten, nisten, from Old English nistan, nistian, from Proto-West Germanic *nistijan (“to nest, build a nest”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian näästje (“to nest”), Dutch nesten (“to nest”), German Low German nüsten (“to nest”), German nisten (“to nest”).

Verb

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An olive-backed sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis) nesting in Singapore

nest (third-person singular simple present nests, present participle nesting, simple past and past participle nested)

  1. (intransitive, of animals) To build or settle into a nest.
  2. (intransitive) To settle into a home.
    We loved the new house and were nesting there in two days!
  3. (intransitive) To successively neatly fit inside another.
    I bought a set of nesting mixing bowls for my mother.
  4. (transitive) To place in, or as if in, a nest.
  5. (transitive) To place one thing neatly inside another, and both inside yet another (and so on).
    There would be much more room in the attic if you had nested all the empty boxes.
  6. (intransitive) To hunt for birds' nests or their contents (usually "go nesting").
    • 1895, Alfred Emanuel Smith, Francis Walton, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
      After the first heavy frost, when acorns were falling, I took a friend into partnership and went nesting.
Translations
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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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Anagrams

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Dutch

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Etymology

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From Middle Dutch nest, from Old Dutch nest, from Proto-West Germanic *nest, from Proto-Germanic *nestą. Cognate with English, German Nest etc.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nest n (plural nesten, diminutive nestje n)

  1. a nest (place to hatch young, especially bird structure)
    Het vogeltje bouwt zijn nest in het riet. ― The little bird builds its nest among the reeds.
  2. (colloquial) a nest (residence; retreat; hideout; home)
    Hij groeide op in een rood nest. ― He grew up in a left-wing household.
  3. (colloquial) one's bed
    Kom uit je nest, ’t is hoogste tijd! ― Get out of bed, it’s high time!
  4. (derogatory) a nasty, ill-behaving or pretentious child; a brat
    Wat een verwend nest! ― What a spoiled, pretentious brat!
  5. (Can we verify(+) this sense?) a piece of junk; rubbish

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Afrikaans: nes
  • Negerhollands: nest, nes
  • → Papiamentu: nèshi, nèishi, nesji

Elfdalian

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Etymology

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From Old Norse næstr, cognate with Swedish näst, English next.

Preposition

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nest

  1. by, near

Latgalian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Balto-Slavic *neśtei. Cognates include Latvian nest and Lithuanian nešti.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈnʲæsʲtʲ]
  • Hyphenation: nest

Verb

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nest (reflexive nestīs)

  1. (transitive) to carry

Conjugation

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Positive conjugation of nest (type I verb)
infinitive nest
supine nastu
verbal noun nesšona
indicative
past present future
1st singular nešu nasu nesšu
2nd singular nesi nes nessi
3rd singular nese nas ness
1st plural nesem nasam nessim
2nd plural neset nasat nessit
3rd plural nese nas ness
subjunctive imperative
1st singular nastum singular nes
2nd singular nestim
nastumi 		plural nesit
3rd singular nastu
1st plural nastumem debitive juonas
2nd plural nastumet converb nasdams
3rd plural nastu
participles
past present future
active ness
nesis 		nasūšs
nass 		—
passive nasts nasoms
nasom 		—
oblique ness
nesis 		nass
nasūt 		nesškys
nesšūt
Negative conjugation of nest (type I verb)
infinitive nanest
supine nanastu
verbal noun nanesšona
indicative
past present future
1st singular nanešu nanasu nanesšu
2nd singular nanesi nanes nanessi
3rd singular nanese nanas naness
1st plural nanesem nanasam nanessim
2nd plural naneset nanasat nanessit
3rd plural nanese nanas naness
subjunctive imperative
1st singular nanastum singular nanes
2nd singular nanestim
nanastumi 		plural nanesit
3rd singular nanastu
1st plural nanastumem debitive najuonas
2nd plural nanastumet converb nanasdams
3rd plural nanastu
participles
past present future
active naness
nanesis 		nanasūšs
nanass 		—
passive nanasts nanasoms
nanasom 		—
oblique naness
nanesis 		nanass
nanasūt 		nanesškys
nanesšūt

References

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  • M. Bukšs, J. Placinskis (1973) Latgaļu volūdas gramatika un pareizraksteibas vōrdneica, Latgaļu izdevnīceiba, page 167
  • Nicole Nau (2011) A short grammar of Latgalian, München: LINCOM GmbH, →ISBN, page 44

Latvian

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Etymology

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Cognate with Lithuanian nèšti (“to carry, bring”), see there for more.

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Verb

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nest (transitive, 1st conjugation, present nesu, nes, nes, past nesu)

  1. (transitive) to carry
  2. (transitive) to bring

Conjugation

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conjugation of nest
INDICATIVE (īstenības izteiksme) IMPERATIVE
(pavēles izteiksme)
Present
(tagadne) 		Past
(pagātne) 		Future
(nākotne)
1st pers. sg. es nesu nesu nesīšu —
2nd pers. sg. tu nes nesi nesīsi nes
3rd pers. sg. viņš, viņa nes nesa nesīs lai nes
1st pers. pl. mēs nesam nesām nesīsim nesīsim
2nd pers. pl. jūs nesat nesāt nesīsiet,
nesīsit 		nesiet
3rd pers. pl. viņi, viņas nes nesa nesīs lai nes
RENARRATIVE (atstāstījuma izteiksme) PARTICIPLES (divdabji)
Present nesot Present Active 1 (Adj.) nesošs
Past esot nesis Present Active 2 (Adv.) nesdams
Future nesīšot Present Active 3 (Adv.) nesot
Imperative lai nesot Present Active 4 (Obj.) nesam
CONDITIONAL (vēlējuma izteiksme) Past Active nesis
Present nestu Present Passive nesams
Past būtu nesis Past Passive nests
DEBITIVE (vajadzības izteiksme) NOMINAL FORMS
Indicative (būt) jānes Infinitive (nenoteiksme) nest
Conjunctive 1 esot jānes Negative Infinitive nenest
Conjunctive 2 jānesot Verbal noun nešana

Derived terms

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Derived terms
  • atnest (“to bring (to carry to where the intended recipient is)”)
  • ienest (“to carry in”)
  • pienest (“to carry up to someone”)
  • pienesums (“contribution”)
  • aiznest (“to carry away”)
  • apnest (“to carry around (some obstacle that is on one's path)”)
  • iznest (“to carry out”)
  • panest (“to carry a little”)
  • panesams (“bearable, tolerable”)
  • nonest (“to carry down”)
  • pārnest (“to carry over (some obstacle that is on one's path)”)
  • pārnesta nozīme (“figurative sense”, literally “transferred sense”)
  • uznest (“to carry up”)
  • sanest (“to bring, hoard (some objects) together”)
  • sanesums (“snowdrift, accumulation of some material”)
  • nēsāt (“to be continuously carrying around; to be wearing; to carry (a fetus)”)
  • nasta (“burden”)

Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old English nest, from Proto-West Germanic *nest, from Proto-Germanic *nestą.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nest (plural nestes)

  1. nest

Descendants

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References

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Middle High German

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old High German nest, from Proto-Germanic *nistą.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nest n (genitive singular nestes, plural nest or nester)

  1. nest

Declension

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Declension of nest (feminine, class 1 strong)
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein daȥ nest diu nest, nester
genitive eines dës nestes dër neste, nester
dative eime dëm neste dën nesten, nestern
accusative ein daȥ nest diu nest, nester

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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Adverbial form of neste

Adverb

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nest

  1. next, second
    nest største - second largest

Derived terms

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References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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Adverbial form of neste

Adverb

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nest

  1. next, second
    nest eldst - second oldest

References

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Old English

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Etymology

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From Proto-West Germanic *nest, from Proto-Germanic *nestą. Cognate with Old Church Slavonic гнѣздо (gnězdo, “nest”), Old Irish net (“nest”), Latin nīdus (“nest”), Sanskrit नीड (nīḍa, “nest”), Albanian neth (“sprout, bud”), Old Armenian նիստ (nist, “sitting; seat; property”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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nest n

  1. nest
    Ealle fuglas habbaþ heora nest ongunnen būtan þē and mē. Hwæs ābīdaþ wit?
    All the birds have started their nests except for you and me. What are we waiting for?

Declension

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Declension of nest (strong a-stem)
Case Singular Plural
nominative nest nest
accusative nest nest
genitive nestes nesta
dative neste nestum
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Descendants

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Welsh

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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nest (not mutable)

  1. second-person singular preterite colloquial of gwneud
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