nyce
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old French nice, from Latin nescius.
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
nyce
- foolish, simple, ignorant, naive
- scared, weak, lazy
- fussy, careful, particular, scrupulous [from 14th c.]
- wanton, sinful, morally reprehensible [from 14th c.]
- cunning, keen, sharp [from 15th c.]
- extravagant, over-the-top [from 15th c.]
- (rare) fragile, delicate [from 15th c.]
- (rare) strange, odd, bizarre [from 15th c.]
- a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “Book II”, in Troilus and Criseyde, lines 22–28:
- Ȝe knowe ek that in fourme of ſpeche is chaunge / With-inne a thousand ȝeer, and wordes tho /That hadden pris now wonder nyce and ſtraunge /Us thenketh hem, and ȝet thei ſpake hem so / And ſpedde as wel in loue as men now do / Ek forto wynnen loue in ſondry ages / In ſondry londes, ſondry ben vſages […]
- You also know that the form of language is in flux; / within a thousand years, words / that had currency; really weird and bizarre / they seem to us now, but they still spoke them / and accomplished as much in love as men do now. / As for winning love across ages and / across nations, there are lots of usages […]
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
References edit
- “nīce, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-04.
Noun edit
nyce (plural nyces)
References edit
- “nīce, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-04.
Adverb edit
nyce
References edit
- “nīce, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-04-04.