nix

See also: Nix and *nix

English

WOTD – 26 November 2008

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /nɪks/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪks
• Homophone: nicks

Noun

nix (uncountable)

1. (colloquial) Nothing. [from 1789]

   Synonyms: nada, zip

Translations

colloquial: nothing

• Afrikaans: niks
• Czech: nic (cs)
• Danish: niks
• Dutch: niets (nl), niks (nl)
• Finnish: niks
• French: ne...rien or rien (fr), que dalle (fr)
• German: nix (de)

• Italian: niente (it)
• Norwegian: niks (no)
• Persian: هیچ‎ (fa) (hič)
• Portuguese: nada (pt) m
• Russian: ничто́ (ru) (ništó)
• Spanish: nada (es)

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, page 1:

   • 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

to reject or cancel

• Dutch: verwerpen (nl)
• Finnish: torpata (fi)
• German: verwerfen (de), annullieren (de), stornieren (de)

• Persian: هیچ گرداندن‎ (hič gardāndan)
• Russian: запреща́ть (ru) (zapreščátʹ), отменя́ть (ru) (otmenjátʹ)
• Spanish: anular (es), rechazar (es), cancelar (es)

to destroy

• Dutch: vernietigen (nl)
• Finnish: niitata (fi)
• German: zerstören (de), vernichten (de)

• Persian: نابود کردن‎ (nābud kardan)
• Spanish: destruir (es), erradicar (es), exterminar (es), aniquilar (es)

Interjection

nix

1. (obsolete) A warning cry when a policeman etc. was sighted in the street.

Related terms

• 86 / eighty-six
• ixnay
• mox nix

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”). More at nicker.

Noun

nix (plural nixes)

1. A treacherous water-spirit; a nixie.

Anagrams

• Xin

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Classical Nahuatl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈníːʃ]

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.

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Danish

Etymology

From German nichts (“nothing”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /neɡs/, [neɡ̊s]

Interjection

nix or niks

1. no, no way

Pronoun

nix

1. (non-standard form of) niks

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɪks/
• Hyphenation: nix
• Rhymes: -ɪks

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.

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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

• IPA^(key): /nɪks/

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

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *sniks (stem *sniɣʷ-), from Proto-Indo-European *snígʷʰs (“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) and Old English snāw and snīwan (English snow and snew).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /niks/, [nɪks]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /niks/

Noun

nix f (genitive nivis); third declension

1. snow
2. white hair

Inflection

Third declension i-stem.

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

Related terms

• ningit
• nivālis
• nivātus
• nivere
• niveus
• nivōsus

 

Descendants

• Aromanian: neao, neauã
• Asturian: ñeve, nieve
• Bourguignon: noige
• Catalan: neu
• Dalmatian: nai
• Esperanto: neĝo
• Franc-Comtois: noidge
• Franco-Provençal: nê, neu
• Friulian: nêf, nêv
• Galician: neve
• Istro-Romanian: ne
• Italian: neve
• Kabuverdianu: nevi
• Ladin: nëif
• Occitan: nèu
• Old French: noif, noi, neige
• Portuguese: neve
• Romanian: nea
• Romansch: naiv, nev
• Sardinian: nii, nie
• Sicilian: nivi
• Spanish: nieve
• Venetian: neve

References

• 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

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Pennsylvania German

Etymology

Compare German nichts.

Pronoun

nix

1. nothing

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Swedish

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

• nix pix