Nidus Ni"dus noun ; plural nidi . [ Latin See Nidi , Nest .] A nest: a repository for the eggs of birds, insects, etc.; a breeding place; esp., the place or substance where parasites or the germs of a disease effect lodgment or are developed.

Niece Niece noun [ Middle English nece , French nièce , Late Latin neptia , for Latin neptis a granddaughter, niece, akin to nepos . See Nephew .] 1. A relative, in general; especially, a descendant, whether male or female; a granddaughter or a grandson. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson. Wyclif. Shak.

2. A daughter of one's brother or sister, or of one's brother-in-law or sister-in-law.

Nief Nief noun See Neif , the fist.

Niellist Ni·el"list noun One who practices the style of ornamentation called niello .

Niello Ni·el"lo noun [ Italian niello , Late Latin nigellum a black of blackish enamel, from Latin nigellus , dim. of niger black. See Negro , and confer Anneal .] 1. A metallic alloy of a deep black color.

2. The art, process, or method of decorating metal with incised designs filled with the black alloy.

3. A piece of metal, or any other object, so decorated.

4. An impression on paper taken from an ancient incised decoration or metal plate.

Niello Ni·el"lo noun An impression on paper taken from the engraved or incised surface before the niello alloy has been inlaid.

Niepce's process Niep"ce's proc"ess (Photog.) A process, now no longer used, invented by J. N. Niepce, a French chemist, in 1829. It depends upon the action of light in rendering a thin layer of bitumen, with which the plate is coated, insoluble.

Nifle Ni"fle (nĭf"'l) noun [ Old French ] A trifle. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Niggard Nig"gard noun [ Icelandic hnöggr niggardly, stingy + -ard ; confer Swedish njugg , Anglo-Saxon hneáw .] A person meanly close and covetous; one who spends grudgingly; a stingy, parsimonious fellow; a miser. Chaucer.

A penurious niggard of his wealth.

Milton.

Be niggards of advice on no pretense.

Pope.

Niggard Nig"gard adjective Like a niggard; meanly covetous or parsimonious; niggardly; miserly; stingy.

Niggard Nig"gard transitive verb & i. To act the niggard toward; to be niggardly. [ R.] Shak.

Niggardise Nig"gard·ise noun Niggardliness. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Niggardish Nig"gard·ish adjective Somewhat niggard.

Niggardliness Nig"gard·li·ness noun The quality or state of being niggard; meanness in giving or spending; parsimony; stinginess.

Niggardliness is not good husbandry.

Addison.

Niggardly Nig"gard·ly adjective Meanly covetous or avaricious in dealing with others; stingy; niggard.

Where the owner of the house will be bountiful, it is not for the steward to be niggardly .

Bp. Hall.

Syn. -- Avaricious; covetous; parsimonious; sparing; miserly; penurious; sordid; stingy. See Avaricious .

Niggardly Nig"gard·ly adverb In a niggard manner.

Niggardness Nig"gard·ness noun Niggardliness. Sir P. Sidney.

Niggardous Nig"gard·ous adjective Niggardly. [ Obsolete]

Covetous gathering and niggardous keeping.

Sir T. More.

Niggardship Nig"gard·ship noun Niggardliness. [ Obsolete] Sir T. Elyot.

Niggardy Nig"gard·y noun Niggardliness. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

nigged nigged noun [ Prov. English nig to clip money.] (Masonry) Hammer-dressed; -- said of building stone.

Nigger Nig"ger noun A negro; -- in vulgar derision or depreciation.

Niggerhead Nig"ger·head` noun A strong black chewing tobacco, usually in twisted plug form; negro head.

Niggish Nig"gish adjective [ See Niggard .] Niggardly. [ Obsolete]

Niggle Nig"gle transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Niggled ; present participle & verbal noun Niggling .] [ Dim. of Prov. English nig to clip money; confer also Prov. English nig a small piece.] To trifle with; to deceive; to mock. [ Obsolete] Beau. & Fl.

Niggle Nig"gle transitive verb 1. To trifle or play.

Take heed, daughter,
You niggle not with your conscience and religion.

Massinger.

2. To act or walk mincingly. [ Prov. Eng.]

3. To fret and snarl about trifles. [ Prov. Eng.]

Niggle Nig"gle transitive verb 1. To use, spend, or do in a petty or trifling manner.

2. To elaborate excessively, as in art.

Niggle Nig"gle intransitive verb (Chiefly Eng.) 1. To move about restlessly or without result; to fidget.

2. To be finicky or excessively critical; to potter; esp., to work with excessive care for trifling details, as in painting.

Niggler Nig"gler noun One who niggles.

Niggling Nig"gling noun Finicky or pottering work; specif. (Fine Arts) , minute and very careful workmanship in drawing, painting, or the like, esp. when bestowed on unimportant detail.

Nigh Nigh adjective [ Compar. Nigher ; superl. Nighest , or Next ] [ Middle English nigh , neigh , neih , Anglo-Saxon neáh , n...h ; akin to Dutch na , adverb , Old Saxon nāh , adjective , Old High German nāh , German nah , adjective , nach to, after, Icelandic nā (in comp.) nigh, Goth. n...hw , n...hwa , adverb , nigh. Confer Near , Neighbor , Next .] 1. Not distant or remote in place or time; near.

The loud tumult shows the battle nigh .

Prior.

2. Not remote in degree, kindred, circumstances, etc.; closely allied; intimate. " Nigh kinsmen." Knolles.

Ye . . . are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Eph. ii. 13.

Syn. -- Near; close; adjacent; contiguous; present; neighboring.

Nigh Nigh adverb [ Anglo-Saxon neáh , n...h . See Nigh , adjective ] 1. In a situation near in place or time, or in the course of events; near.

He was sick, nigh unto death.

Phil. ii. 27.

He drew not nigh unheard; the angel bright,
Ere he drew nigh , his radiant visage turned.

Milton.

2. Almost; nearly; as, he was nigh dead.

Nigh Nigh transitive verb & i. To draw nigh (to); to approach; to come near. [ Obsolete] Wyclif (Matt. iii. 2).

Nigh Nigh preposition Near to; not remote or distant from. "was not this nigh shore?" Shak.

Nighly Nigh"ly adverb In a near relation in place, time, degree, etc.; within a little; almost. [ Obsolete]

A cube and a sphere . . . nighly of the same bigness.

Locke.

Nighness Nigh"ness noun The quality or state of being nigh. [ R.] " Nighness of blood." Holished.

Night Night noun [ Middle English night , niht , Anglo-Saxon neaht , niht ; akin to Dutch nacht , Old Saxon & Old High German naht , German nacht , Icelandic n...tt , Swedish natt , Danish nat , Goth. nachts, Lithuanian naktis , Russian noche , W. nos , Ir. nochd , Latin nox , noctis , Greek ..., ..., Sanskrit nakta , nakti . √ 265. Confer Equinox , Nocturnal .] 1. That part of the natural day when the sun is beneath the horizon, or the time from sunset to sunrise; esp., the time between dusk and dawn, when there is no light of the sun, but only moonlight, starlight, or artificial light.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night .

Gen. i. 5.

2. Hence: (a) Darkness; obscurity; concealment.

Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night .

Pope.

(b) Intellectual and moral darkness; ignorance. (c) A state of affliction; adversity; as, a dreary night of sorrow. (d) The period after the close of life; death.

She closed her eyes in everlasting night .

Dryden.

(e) A lifeless or unenlivened period, as when nature seems to sleep. "Sad winter's night ". Spenser.

» Night is sometimes used, esp. with participles, in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, night - blooming, night -born, night -warbling, etc.

Night by night , Night after night , nightly; many nights.

So help me God, as I have watched the night,
Ay, night by night , in studying good for England.

Shak.

-- Night bird . (Zoology) (a) The moor hen ( Gallinula chloropus ). (b) The Manx shearwater ( Puffinus Anglorum ). -- Night blindness . (Medicine) See Hemeralopia . - - Night cart , a cart used to remove the contents of privies by night. -- Night churr , (Zoology) , the nightjar. -- Night crow , a bird that cries in the night. -- Night dog , a dog that hunts in the night, -- used by poachers. -- Night fire . (a) Fire burning in the night. (b) Ignis fatuus; Will-o'-the-wisp; Jask-with-a- lantern . -- Night flyer (Zoology) , any creature that flies in the night, as some birds and insects. -- night glass , a spyglass constructed to concentrate a large amount of light, so as see objects distinctly at night. Totten. -- Night green , iodine green. -- Night hag , a witch supposed to wander in the night. -- Night hawk (Zoology) , an American bird ( Chordeiles Virginianus ), allied to the goatsucker. It hunts the insects on which it feeds toward evening, on the wing, and often, diving down perpendicularly, produces a loud whirring sound, like that of a spinning wheel. Also sometimes applied to the European goatsuckers. It is called also bull bat . -- Night heron ( Zoöl .), any one of several species of herons of the genus Nycticorax , found in various parts of the world. The best known species is Nycticorax griseus , or N. nycticorax , of Europe, and the American variety (var. nævius ). The yellow-crowned night heron ( Nycticorax violaceus ) inhabits the Southern States. Called also qua-bird , and squawk . -- Night house , a public house, or inn, which is open at night. -- Night key , a key for unfastening a night latch. -- Night latch , a kind of latch for a door, which is operated from the outside by a key. - - Night monkey (Zoology) , an owl monkey. -- night moth (Zoology) , any one of the noctuids. -- Night parrot (Zoology) , the kakapo. -- Night piece , a painting representing some night scene, as a moonlight effect, or the like. -- Night rail , a loose robe, or garment, worn either as a nightgown, or over the dress at night, or in sickness. [ Obsolete] -- Night raven (Zoology) , a bird of ill omen that cries in the night; esp., the bittern. -- Night rule . (a) A tumult, or frolic, in the night; -- as if a corruption, of night revel . [ Obsolete] (b) Such conduct as generally rules, or prevails, at night.

What night rule now about this haunted grove?

Shak.

-- Night sight . (Medicine) See Nyctolopia . -- Night snap , a night thief. [ Cant] Beau. & Fl.

-- Night soil , human excrement; -- so called because in cities it is collected by night and carried away for manure. -- Night spell , a charm against accidents at night. -- Night swallow (Zoology) , the nightjar. -- Night walk , a walk in the evening or night. -- Night walker . (a) One who walks in his sleep; a somnambulist; a noctambulist. (b) One who roves about in the night for evil purposes; specifically, a prostitute who walks the streets . -- Night walking . (a) Walking in one's sleep; somnambulism; noctambulism. (b) Walking the streets at night with evil designs . -- Night warbler (Zoology) , the sedge warbler ( Acrocephalus phragmitis ); -- called also night singer . [ prov. Eng.] -- Night watch . (a) A period in the night, as distinguished by the change of watch. (b) A watch, or guard, to aford protection in the night . -- Night watcher , one who watches in the night; especially, one who watches with evil designs. -- Night witch . Same as Night hag , above.

Night letter, Night lettergram Night letter, Night lettergram See Letter , above.

Night terrors Night terrors (Medicine) A sudden awkening associated with a sensation of terror, occurring in children, esp. those of unstable nervous constitution.

Night-blooming Night"-bloom`ing adjective Blooming in the night.

Night-blooming cereus . (Botany) See Note under Cereus .

Night-eyed Night"-eyed` adjective Capable of seeing at night; sharp-eyed. "Your night-eyed Tiberius." B. Jonson.

Night-faring Night"-far`ing adjective Going or traveling in the night. Gay.

Nightcap Night"cap` noun 1. A cap worn in bed to protect the head, or in undress.

2. A potion of spirit drank at bedtime. [ Cant] Wright.

Nightdress Night"dress` noun A nightgown.

Nighted Night"ed adjective 1. Darkness; clouded. [ R.] Shak.

2. Overtaken by night; belated. Beau. & Fl.

Nightertale Night"er·tale noun [ Confer Icelandic nāttarpel .] period of night; nighttime. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Nightfall Night"fall` noun The close of the day. Swift.

Nightgown Night"gown` noun A loose gown used for undress; also, a gown used for a sleeping garment.

Nightingale Night"in·gale noun [ Middle English nihtegale , nightingale , Anglo-Saxon nihtegale ; niht night + galan to sing, akin to English yell ; confer Dutch nachtegaal , Old Saxon nahtigala , Old High German nahtigala , German nachtigall , Swedish näktergal , Danish nattergal . See Night , and Yell .] 1. (Zoology) A small, plain, brown and gray European song bird ( Luscinia luscinia ). It sings at night, and is celebrated for the sweetness of its song.

2. (Zoology) A larger species ( Lucinia philomela ), of Eastern Europe, having similar habits; the thrush nightingale. The name is also applied to other allied species.

Mock nightingale . (Zoology) See Blackcap , noun , 1 (a) .

Nightish Night"ish adjective Of or pertaining to night.

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