Nesh
Nesh is an English dialect adjective meaning 'unusually susceptible to cold weather' and there is no synonym for this use. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as: "Soft in texture or consistency; yielding easily to pressure or force. In later use chiefly: tender, succulent, juicy."
Usage in the 21st century has been recorded in Staffordshire, the East Midlands, Lancashire, North Wales, South Yorkshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire. There is a similar term nish used in Newfoundland. In 1905, Volume 4 of the English Dialect Dictionary specified the word as being used more widely, in many dialects across England, Scotland and the United States.
The word comes from Old English hnesce meaning feeble, weak, or infirm and is a cognate with the 16th century Dutch word nesch typically meaning damp or foolish. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that some etymologists have suggested a connection with Old High German nasc, meaning 'to eat dainty food or delicacies' (the origin of the word nosh), but it dismisses this connection as "unlikely".
Nesh was added, in 2011, to the British Library 'wordbank', a project to preserve regional dialect words and phrases.
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