nix

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See also: Nix and *nix

English

WOTD – 26 November 2008

Etymology 1

From German nix, colloquial form of nichts (“nothing”).[1][2] Compare also Dutch niks (“nothing”), informal for niets (“nothing”). More at naught.

Pronunciation

  • Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /nɪks/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪks
  • Homophone: nicks

Noun

nix (uncountable)

  1. (colloquial) Nothing. [from 1789]
    Synonyms: nada, zip
    • 1912, Edna Ferber, “Maymeys from Cuba”, in Buttered Side Down:
      "That's a clean lift from Kipling—or is it Conan Doyle? Anyway, I've read something just like it before. Say, kid, guess what these magazine guys get for a full page ad.? Nix. That's just like a woman. Three thousand straight. Fact."
    • 1920, Harold MacGrath, chapter 26, in The Drums of Jeopardy:
      "I can take you down, Miss Conover, but I cannot take Mr. Hawksley. When the boss gives me an order I obey it—if I possibly can. On the day the boss tells me you can go strolling, I'll give you the key to the city. Until then, nix! No use arguing, Mr. Hawksley."
Translations

Verb

nix (third-person singular simple present nixes, present participle nixing, simple past and past participle nixed)

  1. To make something become nothing; to reject or cancel. [from 1903]
    Synonyms: cancel, reject
    Nix the last order – the customer walked out.
    • 1935 July 17, “Sticks Nix Hick Pix”, in Variety, volume 119, number 5, page 1:
      Sticks Nix Hick Pix [headline]
    • 1999, Owen W. Linzmayer, Apple Confidential, San Francisco: No Starch Press, →ISBN, page 242:
      The move came less than six months after Jobs had nixed the spin-off of Newton Inc. as an independent company and brought it back inside Apple (see “The Fallen Apple,” page 143).
    • 2012 June 17, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Homer’s Triple Bypass” (season 4, episode 11; originally aired 12/17/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club‎[1]:
      At work Mr. Burns spies Homer munching complacently on a donut and hisses that each donut Homer shoves into his fat face brings him one donut closer to the poisoned donut Mr. Burns has ordered thrown into the mix as a form of culinary Russian Roulette, only to learn from Smithers that the plant’s lawyers ultimately nixed the poisoned donut plan because “they consider it murder.”
  2. To destroy or eradicate.
Translations

Adverb

nix (not comparable)

  1. No! Not at all!
    • 1916 January, The Electrical Experimenter, New York, page 472, column 2:
      "Ugh! An inventor, eh?" "Nix! He's not an inventor himself, but he antes-up for 'em."

Interjection

nix

  1. (obsolete) A warning cry when a policeman or schoolmaster etc. was seen approaching.

References

  1. ^ “nix”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “nix”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Etymology 2

From German Nix, from Middle High German nickes, niches, from Old High German nichus, nihhus, from Proto-Germanic *nikwus (“water-spirit; nix”), from Proto-Indo-European *neygʷ- (“to wash”). Cognate with Old English nicor (“a water-monster; hippopotamus”).

Noun

nix (plural nixes)

  1. A treacherous water-spirit; a nixie.
Translations

Anagrams

Central Franconian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From German nix. Compare Central Franconian nüüx and nühs.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

nix (indefinite)

  1. nothing

Classical Nahuatl

Pronunciation

Noun

nīx (inanimate)

  1. first-person singular possessive singular of īxtli; (it is) my eye.
  2. first-person singular possessive plural of īxtli; (they are) my eyes.

Danish

Etymology

From German nichts (“nothing”).

Pronunciation

Interjection

nix or niks

  1. no, no way

Pronoun

nix

  1. (non-standard form of) niks

Dutch

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Nixe.

Noun

nix m (plural nixen)

  1. nix, nixie (water spirit)
    • 1956, s-Gravenhage. Maandblad der gemeente 's-Gravenhage, page 14.
      Zijn dit nu de nixen van Heinrich Heine of de zwanen van de Scandinavische ballades?
      Are these then Heinrich Heine's nixes or the swans of Scandinavian ballads?
    Synonyms: nikker, watergeest

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German nix.

Pronoun

nix

  1. (slang) Deliberate misspelling of niks.

German

Etymology

A widespread form in dialects all over the German language area, probably the same as standard nichts, viz. a contraction of it.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

nix

  1. (colloquial) Alternative form of nichts (“nothing”)
    Ich hab nix gesehen. ― I saw nothing.

Descendants

  • → English: nix

Interjection

nix

  1. no way!
    Nix! Jetzt ist Schluss hier!
    No way! That's it now!

Further reading

  • “nix” in Duden online
  • “nix” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *sniks (with oblique stem *sniɣʷ- > niv-), from Proto-Indo-European *snéygʷʰs (“snow”), root noun derived from *sneygʷʰ- (“to snow”) (whence also Latin nivit, ningit, ninguit). Direct cognates include Ancient Greek νίφα (nípha) and Old Irish snechtae and indirectly also Sanskrit स्नेह (sneha), Old Church Slavonic снѣгъ (sněgŭ) and Old English snāw and snīwan (English snow and snew).

Pronunciation

Noun

nix f (genitive nivis); third declension

  1. snow
    • 16 BCE, Ovid, The Loves 3.6.92–93:
      Fontis habēs īnstar pluviamque nivēsque solūtās,
           quās tibi dīvitiās pigra ministrat hiemps.
      For a source you have the rain and the melting snows,
           riches which lazy winter administers to you.
  2. (figurative) white hair
    • 23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horace, Odes 5.13.9–12:
      Importūnus enim trānsvolat āridās
      quercūs et refugit tē, quia lūridī
         dentēs tē, quia rūgae
           turpant et capitis nivēs.
      For he flies, importune, past the dry
      oaks and avoids you, because the yellowed
         teeth, because the wrinkes
           and the white hair make you ugly.

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

Case Singular Plural
Nominative nix nivēs
Genitive nivis nivium
Dative nivī nivibus
Accusative nivem nivēs
nivīs
Ablative nive nivibus
Vocative nix nivēs

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Further reading

  • “nix”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “nix”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Low German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Compare to German nichts (“nothing”)

Pronoun

nix

  1. nothing

Derived terms

Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German nichts.

Pronoun

nix

  1. nothing

Swedish

Etymology

From German nichts (“nothing”).

Interjection

nix

  1. (slang) not, no (negative response to a question)
    Någon undrade om guldfonder, men nix sade Claes, alltför osäkert.
    Someone asked about gold funds, but Claes said "nope, too risky".
    – Är det någon vi känner? Frågade pappa. – Nix, svarade jag.
    Dad asked "Is it someone we know?" "No", I answered.

Synonyms

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