nextyoudaoicibaDictYouDict
next: [OE] Etymologically, something that is next is ‘nearest’. The word comes, like its Germanic relatives, German nächste, Dutch naaste, Swedish näst, and Danish næst, from a prehistoric ancestor formed from *nēkh- ‘near’ (from which English nigh is descended) and the superlative suffix *-istaz. A parallel comparative formation has given English near.
=> near, nigh
next (adj.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
Old English niehsta, nyhsta (West Saxon), nesta (Anglian) "nearest, closest," superlative of neah (West Saxon), neh (Anglian) "nigh;" from Proto-Germanic *nekh- "near" + superlative suffix *-istaz. Cognate with Old Norse næstr, Dutch naast "next," Old High German nahisto "neighbor," German nächst "next." Adverbial and prepositional use from c. 1200. Phrase the next person "a typical person" is from 1857.