Note: these 'words' (valid or invalid) are all the permutations of the word nick. These words are obtained by scrambling the letters in nick.
Definitions and meaning of nick
nick
Pronunciation
(Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /nɪk/
Homophones: nic, Nick
Rhymes: -ɪk
Etymology 1
The noun is derived from Late Middle Englishnik(“notch, tally; nock of an arrow”). Its further etymology is unknown; a connection with nock(“notch in a bow to hold the bowstring; notch at the rear of an arrow that fits the bowstring; cleft in the buttocks”) has not been clearly established.
The verb appears to be derived from the noun, though the available evidence shows that some of the verb senses predate the noun senses. No connection with words in Germanic languages such as Danishnikke(“to nod”), Middle Dutchnicken(“to bend; to bow”) (modern Dutchknikken(“to nod”)), Middle Low Germannicken(“to bend over; to sink”), Middle High Germannicken(“to bend; to depress”) (modern Germannicken(“to nod”)), Middle Low Germanknicken(“to bend; to snap”) (modern Germanknicken(“to bend; to break”), Old Frisianhnekka(“to nod”), and Swedishnicka(“to nod”), has been clearly established.
Noun
nick (pluralnicks)
A small cut in a surface.
(now rare) A particular place or point considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.
(printing, dated) A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type, to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the stick, and in distribution.
Senses connoting something small.
(cricket) A small deflection of the ball off the edge of the bat, often going to the wicket-keeper for a catch.
(genetics) One of the single-stranded DNA segments produced during nick translation.
(real tennis, squash, racquetball) The point where the wall of the court meets the floor.
(British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth, colloquial)Often in the expressionsin bad nickandin good nick: condition, state.
(British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth, law enforcement, slang) A police station or prison.
Usage notes
The sense "a particular place or point" or "a critical moment" still exists in the still-common expression in the nick of time.
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
nick (third-person singular simple presentnicks, present participlenicking, simple past and past participlenicked)
(transitive) To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
(transitive) To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar.
(transitive, rare) To make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of (the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).
(transitive, obsolete) To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
(transitive, sometimes figurative) To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
(transitive, cricket) To hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection.
(transitive, gaming) To throw or turn up (a number when playing dice); to hit upon.
(transitive, mining) To make a cut at the side of the face.
(transitive, British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth, slang) To steal.
(transitive, British, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Commonwealth, law enforcement, slang) To arrest.
Derived terms
nick off
nicker
nicking(noun)
Translations
Etymology 2
From nick(name).
Noun
nick (pluralnicks)
(Internet)Clipping of nickname.
Verb
nick (third-person singular simple presentnicks, present participlenicking, simple past and past participlenicked)
(transitive, obsolete) To give or call (someone) by a nickname; to style.
Etymology 3
A variant of nix or nixie.
Noun
nick (pluralnicks)
(archaic) A nix or nixie(“water spirit”).
References
Further reading
nick (DNA) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
nick (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
CKIN
German
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /nɪk/
Rhymes: -ɪk
Verb
nick
singular imperative of nicken
(colloquial)first-person singular present of nicken
Kashubian
Pronoun
nick
nothing
Further reading
“nick”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022
Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “nic”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi[4]
Polish
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Englishnick(name).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /ɲik/
Rhymes: -ik
Syllabification: nick
Noun
nickm inan
(Internet) nickname (familiar, invented given name)
Declension
Further reading
nick in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
nick in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Swedish
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)