Neck

The Nixie, Nixy, Nix, Näcken, Nicor, Nøkk, or Nøkken (; , ; ; Norwegian ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; or ) are humanoid, and often shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore. Under a variety of names, they are common to the stories of all Germanic peoples, although they are perhaps best known from Scandinavian folklore. The related English knucker was generally depicted as a worm or dragon, although more recent versions depict the spirits in other forms. Their sex, bynames, and various transformations vary geographically. The German and his Scandinavian counterparts were male. The German was a female river mermaid. Similar creatures are known from other parts of Europe, such as the Melusine in France, the Xana in Asturias (Spain), and the Slavic water spirits (e.g., the Rusalka) in Slavic countries. Names and etymology The names are held to derive from Common Germanic or , derived from PIE ("to wash"). They are related to Sanskrit , Greek and , and Irish (all meaning to wash or be washed). The form neck appears in English and Swedish ( or , meaning "nude"). The Swedish form is derived from Old Swedish , which corresponds to Old Icelandic, and in Norwegian Nynorsk. In Finnish, the word is . In Old Danish, the form was and in modern Danish and Norwegian Bokmål it is /. The Icelandic and Faroese are horselike creatures. In Middle Low German, it was called and in Middle Dutch (compare also or plus ). The Old High German form also meant "crocodile", while the Old English could mean both a "water monster" like those encountered by Beowulf, and a "hippopotamus". The Norwegian and Swedish are related figures sometimes seen as by-names for the same creature. The southern Scandinavian version can take on the form of a horse named ("the brook horse"), similar to other water horses such as the Scottish kelpie and the Welsh .