I have some great news!
“Nest” comes from two roots: those for “down” and “sit.” I love this! It didn’t start with birds…it started with sitting, because sometimes we just need to sit, and we need a place.
1934 Webster’s Int’l. says to look also at “nether”:
…which is fun just to consider how many [ni-] or [ne-] words are so because they contain “down”; it also advises a peek at “nidification”:
…which teaches us that “nidiculous” IS A WORD (indeed, one I intend to use), and reveals the verb for “nesting” that’s not “nesting”; and finally, let’s check out “sit”:
…which has too many definitions to show here, so we’ll just bask in how many words (in all caps) are related. Beautiful!
And of course, why might I care about nests these days?
Because the ancient mailbox that came with the house and sits unused next to the front door has recently looked different:
…and differenter still upon a peek inside:
BAAAAAH! It’s the most exciting spring thing so far.
interlexionality 