"to neigh," 1774, Scottish and North of England dialect, of imitative origin (see neigh). Related: Nickered; nickering.
Entries linking to nicker
neigh v.
Middle English neighen, from Old English hnægan "to neigh, utter the cry of a horse," probably of imitative origin (compare Old Norse gneggja "to neigh," Middle High German negen, French hennir, Japanese inanaki). In Middle English also nyghe, neyen, nyen, nayʒen. Related: Neighed; neighing. As a noun, "the cry of a horse, a whinnying," from 1510s.
snicker v.
"laugh in a half-suppressed way," 1690s, possibly of imitative origin; it is similar to Dutch snikken "to gasp, sob;" also compare the horse's nicker. Related: Snickered; snickering.