Nīþ

In historical Germanic society, nīþ (Old Norse:níð/ᚾᛁᚦ; Old English:nīþ, nīð; Old Dutch:nīth); was a term for a social stigma implying the loss of honour and the status of a villain. A person affected with the stigma is a nīðing (Old Norse:níðingr/ᚾᛁᚦᛁᚴᛦ, Old English:nīðing, nīðgæst, or Old High German:nidding), one lower (cf. modern English beneath, modern Dutch beneed/beneden, modern German nieder and modern Danish nedre) than those around him. Middle English retained a cognate nithe, meaning "envy" (cf. modern Dutch nijd and modern German neid/neidvoll), "hate", or "malice."