nil

See also Nil, níl, Níl, Nîl, -nil-, and ni-l

English

Etymology

From Latin nil, a contraction of nihil, nihilum (“nothing”). See nihilism.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /nɪl/, SAMPA: /nIl/
• Rhymes: -ɪl

Noun

nil (plural nils)

1. Nothing; zero.
   • 1946, Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, I.19:

     As to Aristotle's influence on him, we are left free to conjecture whatever seems to us most plausible. For my part, I should suppose it nil.

Translations

nothing

Hebrew: כלום (he) (kloom) Hungarian: null (hu) Kurdish: هیچ Polish: zero (pl) Russian: ничто (ru) (ničtó) n., ноль (ru) (nol') m. (zero)

Scottish Gaelic: neoni (gd) m. and f. Spanish: nada (es), cero (es) Swedish: noll (sv)

Determiner

nil

1. No, not any.
   • 1982, Gavin Lyall, Conduct of Major Maxim, Hodder & Stoughton Ltd:

     But after two or three hours and nil results, you have to accept that the trail is cold and you can't justify that level of manpower.

Related terms

• nihilism

See also

• null
• nil desperandum

Anagrams

• Lin, lin

---

Interlingua

Pronunciation

• SAMPA: /nil/

Pronoun

nil (Indefinite pronoun)

1. nothing

---

Latin

Etymology

Clipping of nihil, in turn from nihilum, from ne- (“not”) + hilum (“a hilum; a trifle, a bagatelle”), or unknown origin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /niːl/, SAMPA: /ni:l/

Noun

nīl (indeclinable)

1. (chiefly poetic) nothing

Synonyms

• nihil

---

Tok Pisin

Noun

nil

1. nail