nesh

/nɛʃ/

//nɛʃ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"nesh" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nesh” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Soft; tender; sensitive; yielding.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nesh · nesh · English

nesh · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "N" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for nesh
PropertyValue
Headwordnesh
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/nɛʃ/
Letters4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “nesh” sits in English frequency

nesh falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nesh is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /nɛʃ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for nesh in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English nesh, nesch, nesche, from Old English hnesċe, hnysċe, næsċe (“soft, tender, mild; weak, delicate; slack, negligent; effeminate, wanton”), from Proto-West Germanic *hnaskwī, from Proto-Germanic *hnaskuz (“soft, tender”), from Proto-Indo-E… The correct English form is nesh, spelled N-E-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Soft; tender; sensitive; yielding.
  2. 2
    Delicate; weak; poor-spirited; susceptible to cold weather, harsh conditions etc.
  3. 3
    Soft; friable; crumbly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nesh appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. haue ye no merueylle sayd the good man therof / for hit semeth wel god loueth yow / for men maye vnderstande a stone is hard of kynde /[…]/ for thou wylt not leue thy synne for no goodnes that god hath sente the / therfor thou arte more than ony stone / and neuer woldest thow be maade neysshe nor by water nor by fyre
  2. And if he keeps the daughter so long at boarding-school, he'll make her as nesh as her mother was.

Etymology

From Middle English nesh, nesch, nesche, from Old English hnesċe, hnysċe, næsċe (“soft, tender, mild; weak, delicate; slack, negligent; effeminate, wanton”), from Proto-West Germanic *hnaskwī, from Proto-Germanic *hnaskuz (“soft, tender”), from Proto-Indo-European *knēs-, *kenes- (“to scratch, scrape, rub”). Cognate with Scots nesch, nesh (“soft, tender, yielding easily to pressure, sensitive”), Dutch nesch, nes (“wet, moist”), Gothic 𐌷𐌽𐌰𐍃𐌵𐌿𐍃 (hnasqus, “soft, tender, delicate”). Compare also nask, nasky, nasty.

This word in other languages

friolento(Español)frileux(Français)kälteempfindlich(Deutsch)friorento(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nesh"?
"nesh" is spelled N-E-S-H. The IPA pronunciation is /nɛʃ/.
What does "nesh" mean?
As an adjective, "nesh" means: Soft; tender; sensitive; yielding.
How do you pronounce "nesh"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nesh" is /nɛʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "nesh"?
From Middle English nesh, nesch, nesche, from Old English hnesċe, hnysċe, næsċe (“soft, tender, mild; weak, delicate; slack, negligent; effeminate, wanton”), from Proto-West Germanic *hnaskwī, from Proto-Germanic *hnaskuz (“soft, tender”), from Pr... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list