ниц

Russian

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Church Slavonic ниць (nicĭ), from Proto-Slavic *nĩcь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [nʲit͡s]

Adverb

ниц • (nic)

1. (dated, stilted or literary) prone, face down

   пасть ниц ― pastʹ nic ― to fall prone

   • 1831, Александр Пушкин, “Красная плошадь”, in Борис Годунов; English translation from Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, transl., Boris Godunov, 2023:

     Неумолим! Он от себя прогнал
     Святителей, бояр и патриарха.
     Они пред ним напрасно пали ниц;
     Его страшит сияние престола.

     Neumolim! On ot sebja prognal
     Svjatitelej, bojar i patriarxa.
     Oni pred nim naprasno pali nic;
     Jevo strašit sijanije prestola.

     He is implacable! He drove away
     The bishops, the boyars, and the patriarch.
     In vain did they prostrate themselves before him;
     He cannot bear the glory of the throne.