Middle English, alteration of ewte, from Old English efeta, whence the doublet eft. This word has gained its initial n sound through a process that has also affected nickname and is opposite to that undergone by adder, apron, and umpire (see note at adder). When ewt was preceded by the indefinite article, the two words were confused: an ewt was taken as a newt. The latter form was established by the 15th cent