nielle

See also: niellé

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French nielle. Doublet of nigella.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /njɛl/

Adjective

nielle (comparative more nielle, superlative most nielle)

1. Extremely dark black.
   • 1999, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Gravity Dreams, page 5:

     That sky was not purple, nor blue, but nielle, blackness beyond black, with stars that jabbed like knives of light.

Anagrams

• Nellie

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /njɛl/
• Homophone: Niel

Etymology 1

Inherited from Late Latin nigella, substantivization of the feminine of Latin nigellus (“blackish”).

Noun

nielle f (plural nielles)

1. corncockle
2. blight, ear cockle

Derived terms

• nieller
• niellure

Etymology 2

Often considered a borrowing from Italian niello (from Latin nigellus), but may also reflect a deverbal of nieller, inherited from the same Latin source, perhaps nevertheless influenced in its spelling by Italian.

Noun

nielle m (plural nielles)

1. niello

Derived terms

• nieller
• nielleur

Verb

nielle

1. inflection of nieller:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “nielle”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.