Meaning

noun the momentary present

adverb in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

adverb in these times; - Nancy Mitford

originFrom Middle English nou, nu, from Old English nū, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu (“now”), from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”). Doublet of nu ("well?"). Cognates Cognate with Scots noo, nou, now (“now”), Yola neow, now, nowe (“now”), North Frisian nü (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Limburgish noe, Nuu (“now”), Danish and…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0