nihil

English

Noun

nihil (countable and uncountable, plural nihils)

1. (countable, law) A nihil dicit.
2. (uncountable, chiefly philosophy) nothingness, nonbeing
   • 1996, David Tibet, “The Starres Are Marching Sadly Home (Theinmostlightthirdandfinal)” (lyrics):

     I shall no longer believe all the visions of my youth:
     They have dissolved into nihil.

   • 2008, Arvydas Šliogeris, Names of Nihil, page 13:

     All tales about the beginning are apt to eliminate the nothing and make being overall. […] Without Nihil the whirlpool of the beginning settles down and becomes a stagnant puddle of pure being. Nihil disappears.

   • 2009, Walter Brueggemann, An Unsettling God: The Heart of the Hebrew Bible, page 143:

     That is, in the sovereign act of creation, whereby YHWH orders chaos, YHWH provisionally defeated the power of the Nihil but did not destroy or eliminate the threat of chaos.

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Interlingua

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnihil/

Pronoun

nihil

1. (indefinite) The absence of anything; nothing.

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Latin

Etymology

From nihilum, from ne- (“not”) +‎ hīlum (“the least bit”).

Alternative forms

• nil
• nichil (Late & Medieval)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈni.hil/, [ˈni(ɦ)eɫ̪]

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /niːl/, [niːɫ̪]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈni.kil/, [ˈniːkil]

Pronoun

nihil n sg (indeclinable, no genitive)

1. indefinite nothing
   • 163 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Heauton Timorumenos 1.77:

     Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.

     I am a man, I consider nothing that is human alien to me.

   • 63 BCE, Cicero, Catiline Orations Oratio in Catilinam Prima in Senatu Habita.8:

     Nihil agis, nihil moliris, nihil cogitas quod non ego non modo audiam sed etiam videam planeque sentiam.

     You do nothing, you plan nothing, you think of nothing which I not only do not hear, but which I do not see and know every particular of.

   Nīl·ne in mentem·st? ― Cannot you think of anything?

   Nihil est. ― It's nothing/It doesn't matter.

   Nihil novī sub sōle. ― Nothing new under the sun (proverb).

Declension

Not declined; used only in the nominative and accusative singular., singular only.

Case	Singular
Nominative	nihil
Genitive	—
Dative	—
Accusative	nihil
Ablative	—
Vocative	—

However, the genitive nihilī and the ablative nihilō (from nihilum) sometimes do occur.

Derived terms

• adnihilō
• nihil album
• nihil debet
• nihil dicit
• nihildum
• nihilōminus
• nonnihil

 

Related terms

• adnihilātiō
• adnihilātor

References

• nihil in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• nihil in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• nihil in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• nihil in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • I cannot wait till..: nihil mihi longius est or videtur quam dum or quam ut
    
  • nothing is more tiresome to me than..: nihil mihi longius est quam (c. Inf.)
    
  • a wise man is in no way affected by this: hoc nihil ad sapientem pertinet
    
  • to live a life free from all misfortune: nihil calamitatis (in vita) videre
    
  • to afford no consolation: nihil habere consolationis
    
  • to considerably (in no way) further the common good: multum (nihil) ad communem utilitatem afferre
    
  • I will refuse you nothing: nihil tibi a me postulanti recusabo
    
  • not to trouble oneself about a thing: nihil omnino curare
    
  • there is nothing I am more interested in than..: nihil antiquius or prius habeo quam ut (nihil mihi antiquius or potius est, quam ut)
    
  • to live as scrupulously moral a life as ever: nihil ex pristina virtute remittere
    
  • to do no business with a man: nihil cum aliquo contrahere
    
  • not to mention..: ut non (nihil) dicam de...
    
  • but this is not to the point: sed hoc nihil (sane) ad rem
    
  • there is something in what you say; you are more or less right: aliquid (τι) dicis (opp. nihil dicis)
    

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Malay

Malay cardinal numbers

	0	1  >
Cardinal : nihil

Alternative forms

• نيهيل‎

Etymology

From Latin nihil.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nihel/
• Rhymes: -hel, -el

Numeral

nihil (Jawi spelling نيهيل)

1. zero

Synonyms

• kosong / کوسوڠ‎
• sifar / صفر‎
• nol / نول‎