Wiktionary

nix

See also: Nix and *nix

EnglishEdit

WOTD – 26 November 2008

Etymology 1Edit

From German nix, colloquial form of nichts (“nothing”).[1][2] Compare also Dutch niks (“nothing”), informal for niets (“nothing”). More at naught.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

nix (uncountable)

  1. (colloquial) Nothing. [from 1789]
    Synonyms: nada, zip
    • 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."
TranslationsEdit

VerbEdit

nix (third-person singular simple present nixes, present participle nixing, simple past and past participle nixed)

  1. To make something become nothing; to reject or cancel. [from 1903]
    Synonyms: cancel, reject
    Nix the last order – the customer walked out.
    • 1935 July 17, “Sticks Nix Hick Pix”, in Variety, volume 119, number 5, page 1:
      Sticks Nix Hick Pix [headline]
    • 1999, Owen W. Linzmayer, Apple Confidential, San Francisco: No Starch Press, →ISBN, page 242:
      The move came less than six months after Jobs had nixed the spin-off of Newton Inc. as an independent company and brought it back inside Apple (see “The Fallen Apple,” page 143).
    • 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.”
  2. To destroy or eradicate.
TranslationsEdit

InterjectionEdit

nix

  1. No! Not at all!
    • 1916 January 1, 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."
  2. (obsolete) A warning cry when a policeman or schoolmaster etc. was seen approaching.

Related termsEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ “nix”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “nix”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Etymology 2Edit

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”).

NounEdit

nix (plural nixes)

  1. A treacherous water-spirit; a nixie.
TranslationsEdit

AnagramsEdit

Central FranconianEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From German nix. Compare Central Franconian nüüx and nühs.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

nix (indefinite)

  1. nothing

Classical NahuatlEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

nīx (inanimate)

  1. first-person singular possessive singular of īxtli; (it is) my eye.
  2. first-person singular possessive plural of īxtli; (they are) my eyes.

DanishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From German nichts (“nothing”).

PronunciationEdit

InterjectionEdit

nix or niks

  1. no, no way

PronounEdit

nix

  1. (non-standard form of) niks

DutchEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

Borrowed from German Nixe.

NounEdit

nix m (plural nixen)

  1. nix, nixie (water spirit)
    • 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?
    Synonyms: nikker, watergeest

Etymology 2Edit

Borrowed from German nix.

PronounEdit

nix

  1. (slang) Deliberate misspelling of niks.

GermanEdit

EtymologyEdit

A widespread form in dialects all over the German language area, probably the same as standard nichts, viz. a contraction of it.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

nix

  1. (colloquial) Alternative form of nichts (“nothing”)
    Ich hab nix gesehen. ― I saw nothing.

DescendantsEdit

  • → English: nix

InterjectionEdit

nix

  1. no way!
    Nix! Jetzt ist Schluss hier!
    No way! That's it now!

Further readingEdit

  • “nix” in Duden online
  • “nix” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

LatinEdit

EtymologyEdit

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).

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

nix f (genitive nivis); third declension

  1. snow
    • 16 BCE, Ovid, Amores 3.6.92–93:
      Fontis habēs īnstar pluviamque nivēsque solūtās,
           quās tibi dīvitiās pigra ministrat hiemps.
      For a source you have the rain and the melting snows,
           riches which lazy winter administers to you.
  2. (figurative) white hair
    • 23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horace, Odes 5.13.9–12:
      Importūnus enim trānsvolat āridās
      quercūs et refugit tē, quia lūridī
         dentēs tē, quia rūgae
           turpant et capitis nivēs.
      For he flies, importune, past the dry
      oaks and avoids you, because the yellowed
         teeth, because the wrinkes
           and the white hair make you ugly.
  3. (alchemy) Synonym of cadmia, zinc oxide

DeclensionEdit

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 termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

ReferencesEdit

Further readingEdit

  • “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 GermanEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

Compare to German nichts (“nothing”)

PronounEdit

nix

  1. nothing

Derived termsEdit

Pennsylvania GermanEdit

EtymologyEdit

Compare German nichts.

PronounEdit

nix

  1. nothing

RomanianEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from French nix.

NounEdit

nix m (plural nicși)

  1. nixie

DeclensionEdit

Declension of nix
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) nix nixul (niște) nicși nicșii
genitive/dative (unui) nix nixului (unor) nicși nicșilor
vocative nixule nicșilor

ReferencesEdit

  • nix in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN

SwedishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From German nichts (“nothing”).

InterjectionEdit

nix

  1. (slang) not, no (negative response to a question)
    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?" "No", I answered.

SynonymsEdit

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