Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/ně-

Pronoun prefix with indefinite function. Apparently related to forms of Proto-Indo-European *ne, however, uncertainly how:

• One possibility is a direct descent from Proto-Indo-European *néh₁, cognate with Latin nē (“not”), Sanskrit ना (nā, “not”). The logic of this derivation is that *ně- originally reflected the meaning none particularly. In support of this hypothesis serves the rare autonomous form Proto-Slavic *ně (“none”) and analogous formations in Baltic: Lithuanian nėkas (“nobody particularly”), Lithuanian nekur̃s (“nowhere particularly”).
• Alternatively, according to F. Mikloshich, from the conflation of *ne (“not”) +‎ *vě (“to know”). Effectively, then *ně- would stand for unknowing who/what/where/how/etc. Vasmer considers this derivation phonetically unsound.
• According to Trubachev, possibly from the conflation of *ne (“not”) +‎ *je (“to be”). Similar to the dialectal *něměti (“not to have”) from Proto-Slavic *ne + *jьměti (“to have”).

Almost not used in Modern Polish. Old Polish did preserve niekako (“somehow”), etc. – in Modern Polish rarely used niejako, niejaki, etc. Not used in Ukrainian.

*ně-[1][2]

1. some- (with interrogatory pronouns)

• *někъjь (“somebody”), *něčьjь (“somebody's”)
• *někъto (“somebody, someone”)
• *něčьto (“something”)
• *někakъ (“somehow”)
• *několiko (“several”)
• *někogъda (“sometime, once”)
• *někъde (“somewhere”)
• *někǫda (“to somewhere”)

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: не- (nje-)
  • Russian: не́- (né-)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: нѣ- (ně-)
  • Bulgarian: ня- (nja-)
  • Macedonian: не- (ne-)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: не̏-

    Latin script: nȅ-, njȅ- (dialectal)

  • Slovene: ne-
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: ně-
  • Slovak: nie-
  • Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: ně-
    • Lower Sorbian: ně-

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “некий”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*ne/*ně”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 91
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nečьjь/*něčьjь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 112
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nečьto/*něčьto”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 113
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nekakъ(jь)/*někakъ(jь)”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 138
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nekoliko/*několiko”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 140
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nekǫda/*někǫda”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 142
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nekъde/*někъde”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 145
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nekъgъdа/*někъgъda”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 146
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1999), “*nekъjь/*někъjь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 25 (*neroditi – *novotьnъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 146
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1997), “*nekoterъ(je)/někoterъ(jь)”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 24 (*navijati (sę)/*navivati (sę) – *nerodimъ(jь)), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 141
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., Duridanov, I. V., editors (1995), “ня”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 4 (мѝнго² – па̀дам), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 726
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., Duridanov, I. V., editors (1995), “някак”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 4 (мѝнго² – па̀дам), Sofia: Prof. Marin Drinov Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 727