nix
English
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]From German nix, colloquial form of nichts (“nothing”).[1][2] Compare also Dutch niks (“nothing”), informal for niets (“nothing”). More at naught.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]nix (uncountable)
- (colloquial) Nothing. [from 1789]
- 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
[edit]
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Verb
[edit]nix (third-person singular simple present nixes, present participle nixing, simple past and past participle nixed)
- To make something become nothing; to reject or cancel. [from 1903]
- 1935 July 17, “Sticks Nix Hick Pix”, in Variety, volume 119, number 5, page 1:
- Sticks Nix Hick Pix [headline]
- 1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure
- He said his roommate had reacted favorably & said he "wanted to share the bed" with him! So I figured that nixed me out of the picture at least for now.
- 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.”
- To destroy or eradicate.
Translations
[edit]
|
Interjection
[edit]nix
- 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."
- (obsolete) A warning cry when a policeman or schoolmaster etc. was seen approaching.
Related terms
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ “nix”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “nix”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Etymology 2
[edit]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
[edit]nix (plural nixes)
- A treacherous water-spirit
- Hyponym: nixie
Translations
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Bavarian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Contraction of Middle High German nihtes niht (“nothing of nothing”), from Old High German niowiht, from nio (“never”) + wiht (“being, creature”), whence also ned (“not”), net, and German nicht, nichts. Compare also Central Franconian nüüx, nuuks, neihst, nühs.
Pronunciation
[edit]Pronoun
[edit]nix (indefinite)
- nothing
- Nix mehr då. ― Nothing left.
Central Franconian
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From German nix. Compare Central Franconian nüüx and nühs, also Bavarian nix.
Pronunciation
[edit]Pronoun
[edit]nix (indefinite)
Classical Nahuatl
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]nīx (inanimate)
- first-person singular possessive singular of īxtli; (it is) my eye.
- first-person singular possessive plural of īxtli; (they are) my eyes.
Danish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From German nix, nichts (“nothing”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Interjection
[edit]nix
Alternative forms
[edit]Pronoun
[edit]nix
- (nonstandard) Alternative form of niks
Dutch
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]Noun
[edit]nix m (plural nixen)
- nix, nixie (water spirit)
- Synonyms: nikker, watergeest
- 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?
Etymology 2
[edit]Pronoun
[edit]nix
German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]A widespread form in dialects all over the German language area, probably the same as standard nichts, that is, a contraction of it.
Pronunciation
[edit]Pronoun
[edit]nix
- (colloquial) Alternative form of nichts (“nothing”)
- Ich hab nix gesehen. ― I saw nothing.
Descendants
[edit]Interjection
[edit]nix
- no way!
- Nix! Jetzt ist Schluss hier!
- No way! That's it now!
Further reading
[edit]Latin
[edit]Etymology
[edit]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
[edit]- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /niks/, [nɪks̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /niks/, [niks]
Noun
[edit]nix f (genitive nivis); third declension
- snow
- (figurative) white hair
- (alchemy) Synonym of cadmia, zinc oxide
Declension
[edit]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 |
Related terms
[edit]Descendants
[edit]- Balkan Romance:
- Dalmatian:
- Insular Romance:
- Sardinian: nibe, nive (Nuorese); nie (Logudorese); ni, nii, nia (Campidanese)
- Ibero-Romance:
- Italo-Romance:
- North Italian:
- Gallo-Romance:
- Vulgar Latin:
- Borrowings:
- French: nihil-gris, nihil-blanc
References
[edit]- Buchi, Éva, Schweickard, Wolfgang (2008–) “*/ˈnɪβ-e/”, in Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman, Nancy: Analyse et Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française.
- Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911) “nĭx”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 438
- Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “nĭx”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volumes 7: N–Pas, page 156
Further reading
[edit]- “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
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Compare to German nichts (“nothing”)
Pronoun
[edit]nix
Derived terms
[edit]- nix för ungud (Paderbornisch); nix för ungood/nix för ungod (North-Western)
Pennsylvania German
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Pronoun
[edit]nix
Romanian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Noun
[edit]nix m (plural nicși)
Declension
[edit]References
[edit]- nix in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN
Sui
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]nix
Swedish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From German nichts (“nothing”).
Interjection
[edit]nix
- (colloquial) nope
- Synonym: nix pix
- 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?" "Nope", I answered.
Derived terms
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- English terms borrowed from German
- English terms derived from German
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɪks
- Rhymes:English/ɪks/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English colloquialisms
- English terms with quotations
- English verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English interjections
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms derived from Middle High German
- English terms derived from Old High German
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English countable nouns
- en:Fantasy
- en:Mythological creatures
- Bavarian terms inherited from Middle High German
- Bavarian terms derived from Middle High German
- Bavarian terms derived from Old High German
- Bavarian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Bavarian lemmas
- Bavarian pronouns
- Bavarian terms with usage examples
- Central Franconian terms borrowed from German
- Central Franconian terms derived from German
- Central Franconian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Central Franconian lemmas
- Central Franconian pronouns
- Classical Nahuatl terms with IPA pronunciation
- Classical Nahuatl non-lemma forms
- Classical Nahuatl noun forms
- Danish terms derived from German
- Danish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Danish lemmas
- Danish interjections
- Danish terms spelled with X
- Danish pronouns
- Danish nonstandard terms
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Dutch/ɪks
- Dutch terms borrowed from German
- Dutch terms derived from German
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- Dutch terms with quotations
- Dutch pronouns
- Dutch slang
- Dutch intentional misspellings
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- Rhymes:German/ɪks
- German lemmas
- German pronouns
- German colloquialisms
- German terms with usage examples
- German interjections
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sneygʷʰ-
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Italic
- Latin terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin 1-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin nouns
- Latin third declension nouns
- Latin feminine nouns in the third declension
- Latin feminine nouns
- Latin terms with quotations
- la:Alchemy
- la:Weather
- la:Snow
- Low German lemmas
- Low German pronouns
- Pennsylvania German lemmas
- Pennsylvania German pronouns
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian masculine nouns
- Sui terms with IPA pronunciation
- Sui lemmas
- Sui nouns
- Swedish terms borrowed from German
- Swedish terms derived from German
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish interjections
- Swedish colloquialisms
- Swedish terms with usage examples