nill

See also: Nill

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪl
• IPA^(key): /nɪl/

Etymology 1

From Middle English nillen, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English nillan, nellan, nyllan (“to be unwilling, refuse, prevent; not want to”), corresponding to ne +‎ will. Cognate with Old Frisian nelle.

Verb

nill (third-person singular simple present nills, present participle nilling, simple past nilled or (obsolete) nould, past participle nilled)

1. (modal auxiliary, obsolete) To be unwilling; will not (+ infinitive).
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queen, III.v:

     I here auow thee neuer to forsake. / Ill weares he armes, that nill them vse for Ladies sake.

   • 1600, Edward Fairfax, The Jerusalem Delivered of Tasso, XII, lxi:

     What I nill tell you ask (quoth she) in vain, / Nor mov'd by prayer, nor constrain'd by power.

2. (intransitive, archaic) To be unwilling.
   • 1955, J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings (Appendices):

     I must indeed abide the Doom of Men, whether I will or I nill.

3. (transitive, archaic) To reject, refuse, negate.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queen, II.vii:

     Certes (said he) I n’ill thine offred grace, / Ne to be made so happy do intend […].

Derived terms

• willy-nilly

Etymology 2

Compare Irish and Gaelic neul star, light. Compare nebula.

Noun

nill

1. Shining sparks thrown off from melted brass.
2. Scales of hot iron from the forge.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)