nis

See also: Nis, NIS, -nis, niś, niš, Niš, ñiś, -niß, and niş

English

Etymology 1

From Danish nisse.

Noun

nis (plural nisses)

1. A nix; a hobgoblin, especially one that resides in a farm house.
   • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth:

     No farm-house goes on well without there is a Nis in it, and well is it for the maids and the men when they are in favour with him.

   • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 259:

     The people of the Feroes call the Nisses or Brownies Niagruisar, and describe them as little creatures with red caps on their beads, that bring luck to any place where they take up their abode.

Etymology 2

Contraction

nis

1. (obsolete) Contraction of ne is

Anagrams

• INS, Ins, Ins., NSI, SIN, Sin, in's, ins, ins., sin

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch nis, from Middle French niche.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nəs/

Noun

nis (plural nisse)

1. niche

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *neitša, from Proto-Indo-European *néykʷyeti, related to Lithuanian su-nìkti (“to set upon, to attack”), Proto-Slavic *niknǫti (“to rise, grow”), and, proposed by some, Ancient Greek νεῖκος (neîkos, “quarrel, struggle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nis/

Verb

nis (aorist nisa, participle nisur)

1. to start, to begin
2. to prepare for a journey

Derived terms

• nisem

 

Amatlán Zapotec

Alternative forms

• nits (San Francisco Logueche)

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. (San Cristóbal) water

References

• SIL / Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Ayoquesco Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Cajonos Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Catalan

Noun

nis

1. plural of ni

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French niche (17th century).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɪs/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nis
• Rhymes: -ɪs

Noun

nis f (plural nissen, diminutive nisje n)

1. (architecture) niche

   Synonym: muurholte

Related terms

• niche

Descendants

• Afrikaans: nis
• → Papiamentu: nis

Irish

Noun

nis m sg

1. genitive singular of neas (“moulding-block”)

Malecite-Passamaquoddy

Malecite-Passamaquoddy numbers ^(edit)

	20
[a], [b] ←  1	2	3  → [a], [b]
Cardinal: nis, tapu     Ordinal: nisewey     Adverbial: nisokehs     Adnominal: nisuwok, nisonul

Etymology

From Proto-Algonquian *nyi·šwi (“two”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnis/, [ˈniz˧˦]

Numeral

nis (initial root nis-)

1. two (in counting)

   Synonym: tapu

References

• Passamaquoddy-Maliseet language portal
• LeSourd, Philip S. (1993) Accent and Syllable Structure in Passamaquoddy, New York: Garland Publishing

Mitla Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Stubblefield, Mitla Zapotec Texts (1994, SIL)
• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Mixtepec Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnis/

Verb

nis

1. Contraction of ne is (“is not”).

Old Saxon

Etymology

Compare a similar contraction in Old English, where it applied to the whole conjugation of wesan and thus created the verb nesan. Such contractions with a verb and the negative part *ne are frequently encountered in ancient Germanic languages, compare Old Saxon nitan, newitan (“to not know”) (from ne + witan), Old English nabban (“to not have”) (from ne + habban), nillan (“to not want”) (from ne + willan) and nesan (“to not be”) (ne + wesan).

Verb

nis

1. Contraction of ne is (“is not”).
   • (Can we date this quote?), Heliand, verse 3935:

     uundres an thesaru uueroldi: nis that uureðaro dad

     wonders of this world: it is not the angriest deed

Phalura

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nis/

Pronoun

nis (demonstrative, Perso-Arabic spelling نِس)

1. it
2. him
3. her
4. this one (prox acc)

Alternative forms

• anís (Biori)

References

• Liljegren, Henrik, Haider, Naseem (2011) Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[1], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

Portuguese

Noun

nis f

1. plural of ni

Quioquitani-Quierí Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Stephen A. Marlett, Basic Vocabulary (of Zapotec) (2010) / Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

San Juan Guelavía Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8
• López Antonio, Joaquín, Jones, Ted, Jones, Kris (2012) Vocabulario breve del Zapoteco de San Juan Guelavía‎^[2] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Tlalpan, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 16, 23

San Pedro Quiatoni Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Santa María Quiegolani Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niʃ/

Adverb

nis

1. Clipping of a-nis (“now”).

Southern Rincon Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Texmelucan Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Tilquiapan Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Stephen A. Marlett, Basic Vocabulary (of Zapotec) (2010) / Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Tlacolulita Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Coatlán-Loxicha Zapotec, in notes, citing Smith Stark

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niːs/

Noun

nis

1. Nasal mutation of dis.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
dis	ddis	nis	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Xanaguía Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Stephen A. Marlett, Basic Vocabulary (of Zapotec) (2010) / Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Yalálag Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• F. López Lorenzo, Cuent que to tiemp ca uk huin nis (Cuando hubo escasez de agua en Yalálag) (1979)
• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Yatee Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Stephen A. Marlett, Basic Vocabulary (of Zapotec) (2010) / Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Yatzachi Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water
2. juice

Adjective

nis

1. watery

References

• NAOS: notes and materials for the linguistic study of the sacred, volume 1 (4), issue 1 (1984): Yatzachi nEl Bajo Zapotec (I. B.) leˀex̭ (adjective) = holy: nis leˀex̭ = holy water.
• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8
• Butler H., Inez M. (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de Yatzachi: Yatzachi el Bajo, Yatzachi el Alto, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 37)‎^[3], second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., pages 270–271

Zaniza Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water

References

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Zoogocho Zapotec

Etymology

From Proto-Zapotec *nissa, from Proto-Zapotecan *nissa.

Noun

nis

1. water
2. juice

Adjective

nis

1. watery

References

• Aaron Huey Sonnenschein, A Descriptive Grammar of San Bartolomé Zoogocho Zapotec (2005)
• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8
• Long C., Rebecca, Cruz M., Sofronio (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de San Bartolomé Zoogocho, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 38)‎^[4] (in Spanish), second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 262