Nick
Nick (nik) , noun
[Anglo-Saxon nicor a marine monster; akin to Dutch nikker a water spite, Icelandic nykr, ONG. nihhus a crocodile, German nix a water sprite; compare Greek ni`ptein to wash, Sanskrit nij. Compare Nix.]
(Northern Mythology) An evil spirit of the waters.
Collocations (1)
Old Nick , the evil one; the devil. [Colloquial]
Nick , noun
[Akin to Nock.]
1.
(Printing) A notch cut into something
(a)
(Printing) A score for keeping an account; a reckoning.
(b)
(Printing) A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution. [Obsolete] — W. Savage
2.
A broken or indented place in any edge or surface; as, nicks in a china plate; a nick in the table top.
3.
A particular point or place considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.
To cut it off in the very nick.
This nick of time is the critical occasion for the gaining of a point.
Nick (nikt) , transitive verb
1.
To make a nick or nicks in; to notch; to keep count of or upon by nicks; as, to nick a stick, tally, etc.
2.
To mar; to deface; to make ragged, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to create a nick{2} in, deliberately or accidentally; as, to nick the rim of a teacup.
And thence proceed to nicking sashes.
The itch of his affection should not then
Have nicked his captainship.
3.
To suit or fit into, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
Words nicking and resembling one another are applicable to different significations.
4.
To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
The just season of doing things must be nicked, and all accidents improved.
5.
To make a cross cut or cuts on the under side of (the tail of a horse, in order to make him carry it higher).
Nick , transitive verb
To nickname; to style. [Obsolete]
For Warbeck, as you nick him, came to me.