An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/naß

by Friedrich Kluge

naß, adjective, ‘wet, moist,’ from the equivalent Middle High German and Old High German naȥ, adjective; corresponding to Gothic *nata-, nominative *nats, ‘wet’ (deduced from natjan; see netzen); Old Saxon and Dutch nat. Teutonic nata- can scarcely be connected with Sanscrit nadĭ, feminine, ‘river,’ because the latter is derived from a root nad, ‘to rush, roar.’ Perhaps Greek νοτερός, ‘wet’ (νοτέω, ‘I am wet’), points, like the Teutonic cognates, to a root not, nod (compare Naß with Greek κότος). Netz likewise may be primitively allied; see Netz and netzen. —