Not farre away, not meete for any guest,

They spide a little cottage, like some poor man's nest. Spenser. Faerie Queene, b. iv. c. 5.

For now began

Night with her sullen wings to double-shade
The desert, fowls in their clay nests were couch't,
And now wild beasts came forth the woods to roam.
Milton. Paradise Regained, b. i.

The Picts, which before inhabited within the Iles of Orkenie, now placed themselues in the North parts of Scotland, and after by process of time came and nestled themselues in Louthian, in the Mers, and other countries more neere to our borders.-Holinshed. Hist. of Eng. b. iv. c. 32.

Let second brothers and poore nestlings,
Whom more injurious Nature later brings
Into the naked world; let them assaine
To get hard penny-worths with so bootlesse paine.
Hall, b. iii. Sat. 2.

The tuneful lark already stretch'd her wing, And flickering on her nest made short essays to sing. Dryden. Palamon & Arcile. A doctrine fit only to come from him, who nested himself into the chief power of Geneva after the expulsion of the lawful Prince.-South, vol. v. Ser. 5.

They have seen perjury and murder nestle themselves into a throne, live triumphant, and die peaceably.

He found him mounted, in his pew,
With books and money plac'd for shew,
Like nest-eggs to make clients lay,
And for the false opinion pay.

Id. vol. iv. Ser. 4.

Hudibras, pt. iii. c. 3.

That fischid in Temse on the night, whan thei ther nettes vp wond,

The body of Harald in a nette thei fond.-R. Brunne, p.54. He seide to hem putte ghe the nett into the right half of the rouwyng, and ghe schulen fynde. And thei puttiden the nett and thanne thei myghten not drawe it for multitude of fisches.-Wiclif. Jon, c. 21.

And he sayde vnto them: caste out the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shal fynde. They cast oute, and

And Absolon hath kist hire nether eye.

Chaucer. The Reves Tale, v. 3850. In the netherest hemme or border of these clothes, menne redde iwouen theirin a Greekish A.-Id. Boecius, b. i.

Thone corner of thys syde which is in Kent, where for the most part ships ariue out of Fraunce, is toward the East: and thother nethermore is towarde the South. Goldinge. Cæsar, b. v. But that this darksom neather world hir light Doth dim with horrour and deformity, Worthy of Heaven and hye felicitie.

Spenser. Faerie Queene, b. ii. c. 7.

A freeman, being born of the slaves infranchised, and being ready to be thrown down the rock Tarpeian, because he had saved and hidden one of the outlaws and men proclaimed to be put to death wheresoever they were found, cast in Sylla's teeth, how they had lived and dwelt together a long time in one self-house, he having payed a thousand nummos for the rent of the uppermost rooms of the same house, and Sylla, three thousand for all the neather most rooms.-North. Plutarch, p. 386.

First, let avenging Jove, with flames from high,
Drive down this body to the nether sky,
Condemn'd with ghosts in endless night to lie,
Before I break the plighted faith I gave.

Dryden. Virgil. Eneis, b. iv.
How deep yon azure dyes the sky!
Where orbs of gold unnumber'd lie,
While through their ranks in silver pride
The nether crescent seems to glide.

Parnell. Night-Piece on Death. That he might humble himself to the nethermost state of contempt, he chose to descend from the seed of Abraham. South, vol. viii. Ser. 10. A. S. Netl, netel; Dut. Netel; Ger. Nessel; Sw. Naesla, NETTLER. nætla; perhaps of the same origin as needle, and meaning that which pricketh, that which stingeth.

NE/TTLE, v. NETTLE, n.

To nettle, (met.) to sting, to inflame, to irritate, to vex, to provoke.

Priue pride in pes is netlille in herbere The rose is myghtles, ther nettille spredis ouer fer. R. Brunne, p. 280. And though I might, yet would I nat do so, But canst thou plaien raket to and fro, Nettle in, dock out, now this, now that, Pandare? Chaucer. Troil. & Cres. b. iv. The ground that is al foregrowe with nettels, breers, and other euil weedes canne bryng foorth no corne til they be weded out.-Sir T. More. Workes, p. 74.

But these are the nettlers, these are the blabbing books that tell, though not half your fellows feats. Milton. Animad. upon the Remonstrants' Defence, &c. Com. Morson, who's angry now? go, frantic swain, Go, gather squills to calm your ruffled brain. Lac. Morson, I've nettled somebody full sore. Fawkes. Theocritus, Idyl. 5. NE/VEN, Skinner and the Glossary to G.

Virgin majesty with mild And sweet allay'd, yet terrible to approach, Skill'd to retire, and in retiring draw Hearts after them tangl'd in amorous nets. Milton. Paradise Regained, b. ii.

This may well seeme a marveile incredible to those who neither knew nor saw the net-worke, habergeon, or curet of Amasis, a king some time of Egypt, which was shewed of late daies within the temple of Minerva, in the Isle of the Rhodians; every thred whereof carried a twist three hundred and sixtie-five double-Holland. Plinie, b. xix. c. 1.

This reticulate or net-work was also considerable in the inward parts of man, not onely from the first sublegmen, or warp of his formation, but in the netly fibres of the veines and vessels of life.-Brown. Cyrus' Garden, c. 3.

And nets of various sorts, and various snares,
The seine, the cast-net, and the wicker maze,
To waste the watery tribes a thousand ways.

NETHER.

NE/THERMORE.

Fawkes. Theocritus, Idyl. 21. A. S. Neother; Dut. Neder; Ger. Nider; Sw. Nedre; Goth. Nadr. (See BENEATH.) R. of Gloucester, (p. 217,) uses the verb anether, to lower, to cast down, or deject. Lower, inferior.

NE THERMOST.

and writing name. Dr. Jamieson derives it from the Dan. Nævn-er, to name.

Of his body was no force, non for him wild murne
Bot thus I fond in my boke, he lies at Schirburne.
The date of Criste to neuen,

Auht hundreth euen, & sexti & on. R. Brunne, p. 20.
Ne never hire doughters name
Ne nevened she, for ernest ne for game.

NE'VER. NEVERTHELATER. NEVERTHELE'SS.

Chaucer. The Clerkes Tale, v. 8485.

A. S. Nafre, i. e. na, not, and afre, unquam, semper, ever. See NATHELESS.

Not ever, not at all or at any time. Not ever the latter, or the less; not at all the less.

Never is much used-prefixed.

Ho ne suffred neuere wrath to be aboue Bituex kyng (&) baron. that he ne mad ay loue. R. Brunne, p. 6. Neuertheles at Karham was the bataile gyuen, The kyng was narow holden, his folk alle to dryuen. Id. p. 16. And thanne I schal knowleche to hem, that I knewe you never, departe awey fro me ye that worcken wickidnesse. Wiclif. Matthew, c. 7. And then wil I knowledge vnto them, that I neuer knewe them, Departe fro me, ye woorkers of iniquite. Bible, 1551. Ib. He that cometh to me schal not hungre, he that bileueth in me schal neuere thirste.-Wiclif. Jon, c. 6.

He that commeth vnto me schall not hongre: and he that beleueth on me shal neuer thurst.-Bible, 1551. Jon, c. 6.

And moreover I say, though that ye have sworne and behight to performe your emprise, and nevertheles ye weive to performe thilke same emprise, by iust cause, men shuld not say therefore ye were a lyer. Chaucer. The Tale of Melibeus.

Neuerthelater, sometyme it is sothe, that some thyng be of necessitie, that is saied to come.-Id. Test. of Loue, b. iii. Neuerthelalter ye shall seke the Lord your God euen there, and shall fynd hym yf thou seke hym with all thyne hearte, and with all thy soule. Bible, 1551. Deut. c. 4.

Neuer the later that thou mayest see, what the prayers and good woorkis of our monkes and friars and other ghostly people are worth, I will speak a word or two, and make an end.-Tyndall. Workes, p. 162.

Yet from those flames

No light, but rather darkness visible
Serv'd onely to discover sights of woe,
Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace
And rest can never dwell, hope never comes
That comes to all.

Milton. Paradise Lost, b. i.

Little weight my wordes with thee can finde,
Found so erroneous, thence by just event
Found so unfortunate; nevertheless,
Restor'd by thee, vile as I am, to place
Of new acceptance, hopeful to regaine
Thy love, the sole contentment of my heart
Living or dying, from thee I will not hide

What thoughts in my unquiet brest are ris'n.-Id. Ib. bx.
Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never is, but always to be, blest,
The soul uneasy, and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

Pope. Essay on Man, Ep. 1.
And from the prayer of want, and plaint of woe,
O never, never turn away thine ear!
Forlorn, in this bleak wilderness below,

NEURO'SPAST.

Ah what were man, should Heav'n refuse to hear. Beattie. The Minstrel, b. i. Gr. Νευροσπαστον; Lat. Neurospaston, veupov, a nerve, and σna-ev, to draw; to this piece of mechanism Horace refers, (Serm. II. vii. 82.)

A puppet or doll, put in motion by drawing strings or wires; as if sinews.

That outward form is but a neurospast.

More. Song of the Soul, b. i. c. 2. s. 34.

Fr. Neutre; It. and Sp. Neutro; Lat. Neuter; i. e. ne, not, and uter, either.

NEUTER, adj. NEU'TER, n. NEUTRAL, adj. NEUTRAL, N. NEUTRALITY. NEUTRALIZE, V. Indifferent, inactive, inert.

Not either one or other; "taking neither part, helping neither side,"(Cotgrave.)

The duke and all his countrey abode as neuter and helde with none of both parties. Berners. Froissart. Cronycle, vol. i. c. 252. Alph. You must be as it were a neuter, and not wedded to your selfe, but as one standing in doubt." Fox. Martyrs, p. 1470.

So in a politique body sike with sedition, all the internall remedy is to come from the whole sound parts thereof, that is to say, such as are neutralls, who may labour with the one side, and with the other to compound the quarrell. Hakewill. Apologie, b. iv. c. 2. s. 1.

Glou. I haue a letter guessingly set downe Which came from one that's of a newtrall hearte And not from one oppos'd.-Shakes. Lear, Act iii. sc. 7.

Neutrality in things good or evill, is both odious, and prejudiciall; but in matters of an indifferent nature is safe and commendable.-Bp. Hall. Holy Observations.

There is no health; physicians say that we
At best enjoy but a neutrality.
And can there be worse sickness than to know,
That we are never well nor can be so.

Donne. An Anatomy of the World. This is certain, that in all our undertakings God will be either our friend or our enemy. For providence never stands neuler.-South, vol. v. Ser. 6.

Too many of our days, though christians in name, appear so indifferent as to any real belief of christianity, that they are rather neuters in regard to it; though on one side of the question there must be truth and safety, but in such a neutrality there can be none.-Pearce, vol. i. Ser. 13.

Be large in proffers, in performance true;
Purchase but their neutrality, thy sword
Will, in despite of oracles, reduce

The rest of Greece.

NEW, v.
NEW, adj.
NEW, ad.

NE'WISH.
NE'WLY.

NE'WNESS. NEWS.

Goth. Niuja; A.S.Neow, niw, niow; Ďut. Nieun, nu, nouw; Ger. New; Sw. Ny; Fr. Neuf; It. Novo; Sp. Nuevo; Lat. Novus; Gr. Neos. Wachter thinks they may be referred to Gér. Nu, Eng. Now; quid enim est novum, nisi nunc factum, vel nuper ortum. And Vossius suggests that the Gr. Neos was from the Heb. Na, now. The A. S. verb, Neow-ian, novare, renovare,

NEWFANGLE, V. NEWFA'NGLE, adj. NEWFA'NGLEness. NEWFA'NGLY.

To do or make now, at the present time, instant moment-afresh. And the adj. new,—

Done or made now; caused to be, produced or affected now, at the present time, the instant moment, opposed to old; modern,-opposed to ancient, or antiquated; fresh, recent.

Our old writers used newelty, as we now use novelty, qv.; also, RENEW, RENOVATE. New-fangle,-see FANGLE.

Gode lawes, that were aleyd, newe he lette make.

R. Gloucester, p. 144. Thus, lo! the Englysse volc vor nagt to grounde come Vor a fals kyng, that nadde non rygt to the kynedom, And com to a nywe louerd, that more in rygte was.

Id. p. 363. Neuerles his falshed brouht vs sorowe alle newe. R. Brunne, p. 66. Nouht thien fulle fer to tham com a tithing, That Harald was comand, neuly was mad kyng.—Id. p.C7. Neither men putten newe wyn in to olde botels, ellis the botels ben to broken and destryed, and the wyn sched out, but men putten newe wyn into newe botels and both ben kept.-Wiclif. Matthew, c. 9.

Neither do men put new wyne into olde vessels, for then the vessels breake, and the wyne runneth oute, and the vessels perishe. But they powre newe wyne in to newe vessels, and so are both saued together.-Bible, 1551. Ib.

For it is written, that "the olde good los or good name, of a man is sone gon and passed, whan it is not newed."

Chaucer. The Tale of Melibeus.

But thus much I dare sain, that shee Was white, rody, fresh, and lifely hewed, And every day her beatie newed.

Id. Dreame.

Hire hosen weren of fine scarlet rede,
Ful streite yteyed, and shoon ful moist and newe.
Id. Prol. to the Canterbury Tales, v. 459.

"Sire Clerk of Oxenforde," our hoste said,
"Ye ride as stille and coy, as doth a maid,
Were newe spoused, sitting at the bord."

[But King Henry] met with a point of great difficulty, and knotty to solue, able to trouble and confound the wisest king in the newnesse of his estate.-Bacon. Hen. VII. P. iii.

What news (sweet Pool) look'st thou my lines should tell,
That like the tolling of the doleful bell,
Bidding the deaths-man to prepare the grave?
Expect from me no other news to have.

Drayton. Q. Margaret to the D. of Suffolk. Hard witts be hard to receive, but sure to keepe; painful without wearinesse, hedefull without wavering, constant without newfanglenesse.—Ascham. The Scholemaster, b. i.

He was so enamored with the newell,
That nought he deemed deare for the iewell.
Spenser. Shepheard's Calender. May.
Cease thou, bad newes-man; badly dost thou hide
Thy maister's shame, in harlot's bondage tide;
The rest myself too readily can spell.

"A

NIAS, used (met.) as the Fr. Niais. youngling, a novice: a simple, witless, unexperienced gull," (Cotgrave.) See EYAS.

Fit. Laught at, sweet bird? is that the scruple? Come, come, Thou art a niaise.

B. Jonson. The Divelle is an Asse, Act i. sc. 6, NIB, n. A. S. Nebbe, the bill, beak, or NIBBLE, v. nib of a bird, (Somner.) Nib, or NIBBLE, n. neb, is nip, (qv.) by the change NIBBLER. of into b; and nibble, the diminutive, to nip gently or slightly, so as not to hold fast; to bite by small nips; to bite at timorously or cautiously.

To nib, (sc.) a pen, is to nip off the point; cut

Spenser. Faerie Queene, b. v. c. 6. it off.

Yet such extenuation let me begge
As in reproofe of many tales deuis'd,
Which oft the ear of greatnesse needes must heare,
By smiling pick-thankes, and base newes-mongers.
Shakespeare. 1 Pt. Hen. IV. Act ili. sc. 2.
Farewell happy fields

Where joy for ever dwells: Hail, horrours, hail!
Infernal world, and thou, profoundest Hell,
Receive thy new possessor: one who brings
A mind not to be chang'd by place or time.
Milton. Paradise Lost, b. i.

For the truth is, newness, especially in great matters, was a worthy entertainment for a searching mind, it was (as I may so say) an high test, fit for the relish of an Athenian reason.-South, vol. i. Ser. 1.

I must confess, says he, I am amazed that the press should be only made use of in this way by, news-writers and the zealots of parties.-Spectator, No. 124.

He [Edmund Waller] surprised the town with two or three pieces of that kind, as if a tenth Muse had been newly born to cherish drooping poetry.—Johnson. Life of Waller.

To coin new-fangled wagers, and to lay 'em,
Laying to lose, and losing not to pay 'em.

Churchill. The Candidate.

Yet right anon as that his dore is up,
He with his feet wol spurnen doun his cup,
And to the wood he wol, and wormes ete; j
So newefangel ben they of hir mete.

Id. The Frankeleines Tale, v. 10,932.

I thynke for to touche also
The worlde, whiche neweth euery daie,
So as I can, so as I maie.

Gower. Con. 4. Prol.

The presentes euery daie bene newed, He was with yeftes all besnewed.-Id. Ib. b. vi. This ordynaunce they had made of newe, that the frechmen knewe nat of.-Berners. Frois. Cron. vol. i. c. 161.

We now finde it nought in Saxony, where we newly see it assayede.-Sir T More. Workes, p. 232.

In the common wyne that oure Sauiour drancke with theym after his resurrection, was there none other manner of newenesse than there was therein before.-Id. Ib. p. 1328.

The capitayne, who was desyrous to here newes, sayd, sir, I here none, I pray you, if you haue herde any, lette me here some parte of them.-Berners. Frois. Cron. vol. i. c.66. The brute appeasde we askte him of his birth, What newes he brought, what hope made hym to yield. Surrey. Virgile. Eneis, b. ii. But let this pass as it is well worthy & let us see and examine more of this newfangled philosophy. Fryth. Workes, p 21. Diuers yonge scolers thei founde properly witted, feately lerned, and newfangly minded.-Sir T. More. Workes, p.213. And when the tenauntes came to pay their quarter's rent They bring some foule at Midsommer, a dish of fish in Lent,

At Christmasse a capon, at Michaelmase a goose: And somewhat else at Newyeares-tide, for feare their lease flie loose.

Gascoigne. A Glose upon this Text, Dominus, &c.

It drinketh not newish at all.-Bacon, Naturall Historie.

The erl hath twey men hym next, Brygthoel & Jordan. R. Gloucester, p. 159. William vnderstode, that he said reson, & was next of blode. R. Brunne, p. 92. And he seide to hem, go we into the nexle townes & citees, that I preche also there; for hereto I cam. Wiclif. Mark, c. 1. And he sayde vnto them: let vs goe into the next tounes, that I maye preache there also; for truly I came out for that purpose.-Bible, 1551. Ib.

Lady graunt vs soone The same thing, the same boone, That this nexte folke haue done.

1

Chaucer. The House of Fame, b. iii. Now drew they nigh The western point, where those half-rounding guards, Just met, and closing stood in squadron join'd Awaiting next command.-Milton. Paradise Lost, b. iv. There the companions of his fall, orewhelm'd With floods and whirlwinds of tempestuous fire, He soon discerns, and weltring by his side One next himself in power, and next in crime, Long after known in Palestine, and nam'd Beelzebub. Id. Ib. b. i. Friend, parent, neighbour, first it will embrace; His Country next, and next all human race. Pope. Essay on Man, Ep. 4. It should be considered what is the next and immediate object of the will, with respect to a man's walking, or any other external action. Edwards. On the Freedom of the Will, pt. i. s. 1.

The thing nextly chosen or preferred when a man wills to walk, is not his being removed to such a place where he would be, but such an exertion and motion of his legs and feet, &c. in order to it.-Id. Ib.

Leo. How she holds up the neb, the byll to him!

Shakespeare. The Winter's Tale, Act i. sc. 2. Put water into the bottome of a stillatory with the neb stopped.-Bacon. Naturall Historie, § 27.

I fear the souldiers, for they look as if
They would be nibling too.

Beaum. & Fletch. The False One, Act v. BC. 4. Even ours at home can nibble at these (as they think) ill placed honours and services.

Bp. Hall. Episcopacy by Divine Right, pt. iii. s. 8. The tender nibbler would not touch the bait, But smile and jest at every gentle offer.

Shakespeare. The Passionate Pilgrim, s. 2. With thee, where bearded goats descend the steep, Or where, like winter's snow, the nibbling sheep Clothe the slope hills, I'll pass the cheerful day.

But as I gesse, Alla was not so nice,
To him that is so soveraine of honour,
As he that is of cristen folk the flour,
Send any child, but it is bet to deme
He went himself, and so it may wel seme.

Chaucer. The Man of Lawes Tale, v. 5508
But say that we ben wise and nothing nice.
Id. The Wif of Bathes Tale, v. G320,
This miller smiled at hir nicctee,
And thought, "All this n'is don but for a wile."
Id. The Reves Tale, v. 1044.
As though it shulde him well beseme,
That he all other men can deme,
And hath foryete his owne vice,

A tale of them that be so nice,

And feignen them selfe to be wise,

I shall the tell in suche a wise.-Gower. Con. A. b. L.

Of whiche if I the propertee

Shall telle, after the nicelee

So as it worcheth on no man.

Id. Ib. b. v.

Surelye we cannot but here confesse the trouth, these nice and wanton words do not very wel wyth vs, but wo must pray God and you to pardon vs. Sir T. More. Workes, p. 306. [I have seen some men] as nettles, which if they be nicely handled, sting and prick; but if hard and roughly pressed, are pulled up without harme.

Bp. Hall. Meditations & Vows, Cent. 2. § 12. And eke that Age despysed nicenesse vaine, Enur'd to hardnesse, and to homely fare.

Spenser. Faerie Queene, b. iv. c. 8. And there Marcus Cato, that never made ceremony or niceness to praise himself openly, nor reckoned it any shame to do it, did take a present occasion for it.

North. Plutarch, p. 295.

But human frailty nicely to unfold,
Distinguishes a satyr from a scold.

Buckinghamshire. Essay on Poetry. You see how the scribes of the law, with much anxiety and niceness, confine themselves to the letter of Moses. South, vol. iv. Ser. 1.

It being well known that they were never bred to the niceties of logic, either in making syllogisms or dilemmas. Id. vol. viii. Ser. 11. By his own nicety of observation, he had already formed such a system of metrical harmony, as he never afterwards much needed, or much endeavoured to improve.

Johnson. Life of Waller. NICHE. It. Nicchia; Fr. "Niche,-a hollow seat, or standing for a statue or image, made i. e. cut) into a wall," (Cotgrave.

It is probably a nick, or nook, from the verb aick, to cut into; and usually applied as Cotgrave explains.

That the nices, if they contain figures of white stone or marble, be not coloured in their concavity too blacke. Reliquiae Wottoniane, p. 61. On the other side of Naples are the catacombs. These must have been full of stench and loathsomeness, if the dead bodies that lay in them were left to rot in open niches, as an eminent author of our own country imagines. Addison. Italy. Gothic tombs owed their chief grandeur to rich canopies, fretwork, and abundance of small niches and trifling figures. Walpole. Anecdotes of Painting, vol. iv. c. 5.

}

NICK, v. NICK, n. nictare oculis; and Skinner, to the NICKER. Ger. Nick, a nod. The word is used in English, as equivalent to the Lat. Incidere, to cut into.

Junius refers to the Dut. Nichen,

To cut into; to cut a notch or hollow into ; (sc.) into one thing to suit the reception of another; to make a suitable or convenient incision; to nick or do any thing in the nick; i. e. at a fitting time, suitably, conveniently, opportunely, seasonably; at the right moment, at a lucky moment.

To nich is, also,-to cut a notch in a tally, by way of reckoning or keeping account; and thus, out of all nick, is out of reckoning; and to nick, is to cheat, (by cutting a notch fraudulently.) to impose upon, to play a trick of delusion or mockery and hence, perhaps, to nick-name, (qv.)

And the while

His man with cizers nickes him like a foole.

Shakespeare. Comedy of Errors, Act v. sc. 1.

Ho. I tell you what Launce his man told me, He lou'd her out of all nicke.

Id. Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act iv. sc. 2. Will. Think how to nick him home, thou knowest she dotes on thee.

Beaum. & Fletch. The Little Thief, Acti. sc. 1.
Why should he follow?

The itch of his affection should not then
Haue nickt his captain ship at a point
When halfe to halfe the world oppos'd, he being
The meered question?

Shakespeare. Anthony & Cleopatra, Act iii sc. 11.
Schol. Does the sea stagger ye?
Mast. Now ye have hit the nick.

Beaum. & Fletch. The Pilgrim, Act iii. sc. 6. God delivered them at the very nick of time, when they were but one remove, one hair's breadth from destruction. South, vol. ix. Ser. 4. His scatter'd pence the flying nicker flings, And with the copper shower the casement rings. Gay. Trivia, b. iii. NICK, (Old.) In Dutch, says Wachter, Nicker is the devil; and the name seems derived from the A. S. Nac-an, to slay; for the devil was a manslayer from the beginning.

"Nicka was the Gothic demon, who inhabited the element of the water, and who strangled persons that were drowning," (Warton, Hist. of Eng. Poetry, Diss. 1;) and from him the name has been transferred, with the epithet "old," to the devil of the christian theology. Butler gives Machiavel the credit of conferring the cognomen.

It is enough (quoth he) for once,

And has repriev'd thy forfeit bones:
Nick Machiavel had ne'er a trick,

(Though he gave his name to our Old Nick,)
But was below the least of these,

That pass i' th' world for holiness.-Hudibras, pt. iil. c.1.

NICK-NAME, v. Junius imagines,-from NICK-NAME, n. nom de nique, an expression borrowed from the Italians, who use not only iniquo, but niquo. But see NICK.

To impose a name in mockery or jest; from some real or imputed characteristic, or some act of the party.

Tiberius Nero propler nimiam vini avidilalem, saith Suetonius, by reason of his excessiue drinking, was nick-named Biberius Mero.-Hakewill. Apologie, b. iv. c. 6. s. 5.

Others auouch, and that more truelic, that he [Johannes Duns Scotus] was borne in Downe, an old ancient ciuitie in the north of Ireland, and thereof they ghesse him to be named Dunensis, and by contraction Duns, which terme is so triuiall and common in all schools, that whoso surpasseth others either in cauilling, sophistrie, or subtil philosophie, is forthwith nicke-named a Duns. Holinshed. Description of Ireland, c. 1. For my mortale enemie hath falsely surmised me to bee a fayned person giuing mee nicknames, so abusing the world. Bacon. Hen. VII. p. 151.

From nicknames, or nursenames, came these (pardon me if it offend any, for it is but my coniecture,) Bill and Will for William, Clem for Clement, Nat for Nathaniel, Mab for Abraham, &c.-Camden. Remaines. Surnames.

To

And, instructed in the art of display, they utter with an air of plausibility this jargon, which they nick-name metaphysics. Dr. Whitby. Five Points, Advertisement. NICOTIAN, n. Fr. "Nicotiane; It. NicoNICO'TIAN, adj. Stiana; Sp. Nicociana. bacco, (first sent into France by Nicot (the maker of the great French Dictionary) in the year 1560, when he was Embassador Leiger in Portugal,")Cotgrave.

And for your green wound, your Balsamum and your St. John's woort are all mear gulleries and trash to it, especially your Trinidado: your Nicolian is good too.

B. Jonson. Every Man in his Humour, Act iii. s. 5. What shall I say more? this gourmand sacrifices whole

hecatombs to his paunch, and whiffes himselfe away in Necolian incense to the idol of his vaine intemperance.

NICTATE, v. NICTATION. NI'CTITATE, V. compound connivere.

Bp. Hall. St. Paul's Combat. Lat. Niclare, to wink. Vossius,-from the ancient nivere, still remaining in the

To wink, to move the eye-lid quickly up and down.

Neither is it to be esteemed any defect or imperfection in the eyes of man that they want the seventh muscle, or the nictating membrane, which the eyes of many other animals are furnished withal; for though they be very useful, and in a manner necessary to them, considering their manner of living, yet they are not to man.-Ray. Creation, pt. ii.

Not only our niclations for the most part when we are awake, but also our nocturnal volutations in sleep, are performed with very little or no consciousness.

Cudworth. Intellectual System, p. 161. To the eye-lids we may add another guard afforded the eyes of most quadrupedes, birds, and fishes, by the nictitating membrane.

Derham. Physico-Theology, b. iv. c. 2. Note 34.
Lat. Nidificatio, from

NIDIFICATION.Nidificare, i. e. Nidum fa

NIDULATION.

cere, to make, to build a nest. TOS, from veus, young.

Gr. Νεοσος, νεοτ

NI'DGET.

by Cotgrave, a nidget, a fop, an idiot; the verb niger, to play the nidget or fop, to trifle, from the Lat. Nugari, (Menage.) Spelman and Skinner have also niderling, or nidering, which the former would derive from the Anglo-Norman Nid, a nest, and ling, a chicken; q.d. a chicken that dare not leave his nest. The latter from nether, lower, q.d. A low, base, worthless fellow.

But there was one true English word of as great, if not greater force than them ail, now out of al use, and wil be thought for sound barbarous; but therefore of more efficacie (as it pleaseth Porphyrie) and in signification it signifieth as it seemeth, no more than abiect, base-minded, false-hearted, coward, or nidget. Yet it hath levied armies, and subdued rebellious enemies; and that I may holde you no longer, it is niding. [See Nithing in Junius.] Camden. Remaines. Languages.

NIDOUR. Lat. Nidor; Fr. Nideur, nidoNi'DOROSE. reux. The Lat. Nidor, properly, NI'DOROUS. says Vossius, is the smell or odour of esculents, and sometimes of other things; per haps from the Gr. Kvioa. Cotgrave calls the Fr. Nideur,-"the stench or fulsome savour of things broiled or burnt," and in English it is applied to the scent of meats dressed or dressing.

When the flesh-pots reek and the uncovered dishes send forth a nidor and hungry smells; that cloud hides the face and puts out the eye of reason.-Bp. Taylor, vol. i. Ser. 16.

Incense and nidorous smels (such as were of sacrifices) were thought to intoxicate the brain, and to dispose men to devotion: which they may do by a kind of sadness and contristation of the spirits; and partly also by heating, and exalting them.-Bacon. Naturall Historie, § 932.

The signs of the functions of the stomach being depraved, are pains in the stomach many hours after repast, eructations either with the taste of the aliment, acid, nidorose, or foetid, resembling the taste of rotten eggs, &c. Arbuthnot. Of Aliments, c. 1. s. 6.

NIECE. Fr. Nièce, and niepce; It. Nezza; in A. S. Nift, which bears a manifest resemblance to nefa, a nephew; in Dut. Nichte is cognata, neptis; in Ger. Nift, nichte; and in Goth. Nithyis is cognatus, akin: and it is probable that the word has an origin in some term signifying generally, (nigh-ness, near-ness,) proximity, near relationship. The etymologists, in general, refer it to the Lat. Neptis. It is now applied to

The daughter of a brother or sister.
Seynt Edwarde's nece, that of hys fader kunde come.
And of the rygte kunde of Englond, kyng Henry to wyne
R. Gloucester, p. 353.

nome.

For the abbot of Engelonde. & the abbesse ys nece
Shullen have a knok on here crownes.
Piers Plouhman, p. 84.

"O dere cosin min, Dan John," she saide,
"What aileth you so rathe for to arise?"
"Nece," quod he, "it ought ynough suffise
Five houres for to slepe upon a night."

Chaucer. The Shipmannes Tale, v. 13,030.
Myselfe was from Verona banished,
For practising to steale away a lady,
Aud heire and neece, alide vnto the duke.

Shakespeare. Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act iv. sc. 1. NIFLE. Unless I am deceived (says Skinner), from the Fr. Neuf, new, q.d. Neufles, news. Tyrwhitt explains it,-trifles.

He served hem with nifles and with fables.
Chaucer. The Sompnoures Tale, v. 7342.

NIGGARD, adj. NIGGARD, n. NIGGARD, v. NIGGARDIZE, V. NIGGARDISH. NIGGARDLY, adj. NIGGARDLY, ad. NIGGARDLINESS. NIGGARDNESS. NIGGARDOUS. NIGGÅRDSHIP. NIGGARDY. NIGGISH, adj. vetous, avaricious.

Skinner and Junius suggest-anegando, or perhaps, adds the latter, from nigh, or near; he looketh very nigh, or, he is a near man, being common expressions, applied to one who is stingy, and too anxious about money. Hence, niggard means,

Near, or of a narrow, close, confined disposition; parsimonious, sparing, co

Grose says, that in the North, niggards are iron cheeks to a grate; probably because they narrow or contract the space for fuel.

He is to gret a nigard that wol werne
A man to light a candel at his lanterne.
Chaucer. The Wif of Bathes Prologue, v. 5915.
But yet me greveth most his nigardie.

Id. The Shipmannes Tale, v. 1802.
time preset, & alway spare al for their time to come.
But these couetous nigardes passe on with pain alway yo
Sir T. More. Workes, p. 83.

Be not ye nyggish, & slothfull distributors of the doctry ne that I giue you, but put it forth lauishly.-Udal. Mark, C.4

I. Not being is considered as excluding all substance, and then all modes are also necessarily excluded; and this we call pure nihility, or mere nothing.

Watts. Logic, pt. 1. c. 2. s. 6.

NILL, v. A. S. Nillan, nolle, or non velle; compounded of na, not, and will-an, to will.

To will not, to be unwilling; to dissent, to deny, to refuse.

But whanne the word was herd that was seide Jhesus seyde to the prince of the synagogue nyle thou drede, oonli beleeve thou.-Wiclif. Mark, c. 5.

Whoso that n'ill beware by other men,
By him shal other men corrected be.

Chaucer. The Wif of Bathes Prologue, v. 5762. Wherefore in all thynges that reason is, in hym also is libertie of willyng and of nillyng.-Id. Boecius, b. v.

So whan he [Hale] seeth tyme at last,
That he may worche an other wo,
Shall no man tourne him therfro,
That hate nyll his felonie

Fulfil.

Gower. Con. A. b. ill. Yet nothing could my fixed mind remove, But, whether will'd or nilled, friend or foe,

I am resolv'd the utmost end to prove.

Spenser. Faerie Queene, b. iv. c. 7.
With my Soveraigne's leave,

I'll wed thee to this man, will he, nill he.
Beaum. & Fletch. The Maid of the Mill, Act v. sc. 1.

So streyt he was, that they me ledde amydde weyes heye.
Seluer, that non man ne dorste yt nyme. they he yt seye.
R. Gloucester, p. 267.
In the south syde of Temese nyne batayles he nome
Agen the Deneys the vorst ger of ys kynedom.-Id. p.264.

He went his way, and with the coper he came,
And this chanon it in his hondes name
And of that coper weyed out an unce.

Chaucer. The Chanones Yemannes Tale, v. 16,765.

But sith we arne to Fortune comen,
And hath our sermon of her nomen
A wonder will I tell thee now.
So that anone by his aduise,
There was a priuie counsaile nome,
The lordes ben to gether come.

Id. Rom. of the Rose.

Gower. Con. A. b. iii.

Hudibras, pt. ii. c. 3. Agilis, says Skinner,"One who can do any thing quickly and easily; from the NIMBLESS. verb, to nim :" and Junius notices that num-ol is capax, able to take or receive. See NIM.

NIMBLENESS.

Active, agile, quick in motion or action; quick, speedy, alert.

Now the hande is the more nymble by the vse of some fcates, and the legges and fete more swifte & sure by custome of goynge and rennynge.-Sir T. More. Workes, p. 153.

I grant, that in pregnancie of wit, nimblenesse of limmes, and politike inuentions, they generallie exceed vs.

Holinshed. Description of Britaine, c. 20.

Ilis offering soon propitious fire from Heav'n
Consum'd with nimble glance, and grateful steam.
Millon. Paradise Lost, b. xi.

But still the tyrant sternely at him layd,
And did his yron axe so nimbly wield,
That many wounds into his flesh it made,
And with his burdenous blowes him sore did ouerlade.
Spenser. Faerie Queene, b. v. c. 11.

Id. Ib.

He could his weapon shift from side to side, From hand to hand, and with such nimblesse sly Could wield about, that, ere it were espide The wicked stroke did wound his enemy Belinde, beside, before, as he it list apply. Sir Nicholas Bacon, when a certain nimble-witted councellor at the bar, who was forward to speak, did interrupt him often, said unto him; "There is a great difference betwixt you and me: a pain to me to speak, and a pain to you to hold your peace."-Bacon. Apothegms, s. 124.

Capacious He.l complains for want of room,
And seeks new plagues for multitudes to come,
Her nimble hands each fatal sister plies,
The sisters scarcely to the task suffice.

Not of a nimble tongue, though now and then
Heard to articulate like other men:

No jester, and yet lively in discourse,
His phrase well chosen, clear, and full of force.

NINE. NINTH. NINETEEN. NINETY.

Cowper. Tirocinium. Goth. Niun; A.S.Nigan, nigen, nigon; Dut. Neghen; Ger. Neun; Sw. Nio. In Gr. Evvea; Lat. Novem; Fr. Neuf; It.Nove; Sp. Nueve. Becman thinks novem is from novus, q.d. novissimus, the last (sc.) of the numerals. Vossius dissents. Martinius agrees with Becman as to the Lat.; and with regard to the Ger. he observes,"Neig-en est inclinare, et inde numerus ille inclinatus dici queat." This Wachter thinks not improbable; but what does numerus inclinatus mean? Nine-teen,-nine and ten. Nine-ty,-nine times ten.

Nyne tounes the quene anon of that hyr owene was
Gef the house of Seyn Swythyn, vor thys holy cas.
R. Gloucester, p. 340.
Hys fader hym made at Westmustre knygt hys owe honde,
In the nyentethe ger of hys elde.
Id. p. 421.

In the passion tyme was the first bataile,
Nene was that ilk gere, gret was ther trauaile.
R. Brunne, p. 21.

In his nientend gere, of his regalte,
Henry his sonne his pere was git ouer the se.-Id. p. 133.
And aboute the nynthe our Jhesus cricde with a greet vois
and seide, Hely, Hely, lamasabatany, that is, my God, my
God, whi hast thou forsaken me.-Wiclif. Matthew, c. 27.
And aboute the ninth houre Jesus cried wyth a loude
voyce, sayinge: Eli Eli lama sabathani. That is to say,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsake me.
Bible, 1551. Ib.

Behind this God of Love vpon the grene,
I saw coming of ladies ninetene.

Chaucer. Legend of Good Women, Prol.
Or at th' unhappy wags which let their cattle stray,
At nine-holes on the heath whilst they together play,
He never seems to smile.-Drayton. Poly-Olbion, s. 14.
NINNY.

NINNY-HAMMER. Nizzy.

Sp. Ninno, infans; It. Nencio, or nescio, a fool, an idiot, a natural, a dolt; one that knows nothing, ignorant, (Florio.) A silly, simple fellow, a simpleton. Ariel. Thou liest, thou canst not. Cal. What a py'de ninnie's this.

Shakespeare. Tempest, Act iii. sc. 2. You silly, awkward, ill-bred, country-sow, (quoth one,) have you no more manners than to rail at Hocus, that saved that cled-pated, numskull'd, ninny-hammer of yours from ruin, and all his family?-Swift. Hist. of John Bull, c. 12. Some say, compar'd to Bononcini, That Mynheer Handel's but a ninny. Byrom. Epigram on the Feuds between H. and B.

NIP, v. NIP, n.

Dut. Niipen, kniipen; Ger. Kneipen, kneiffen; Sw. Nypa, NIPPER. niupa, comprimere, constringere. NIPPINGLY. Junius (in Gloss. Goth. p. 116,) NIPPLE. observes - that the Goth. Ganipnands, contristatus, seems to belong to some old verb, corresponding with the Dut. Nipen, or Eng. Nip; and in A. S. the diminutive Nypele, a nipple, shows the word to have existed in that language also.

To pinch or press off sharply; to pinch, (sc. with the teeth;) and, consequentially, to bite; to pinch off, (sc. the germ or bud;) and hence, to blight, to perish: (met.) to bite, to pinch, to hurt, to injure, (sc. by censure, rebuke, or sarcasm;) to reprehend, to satirize.

Then awaked Wrathe. whit to white eyen, Whit a nyvilynge [sniveling] nos. nypping his lippes. Piers Plouhman, p. 92. He that nyppeth a mannes eye, bryngeth forth teares. Bible, 1551. Jesus Syrach, c. 22. This was no great curious sermon, but this was a nipping sermon, a pinching sermon, a byting sermon, it had a full bite, it was a nipping sermon, a rough sermon, and a sharpe biting sermon.-Latimer. A faithful Sermon before K. Edw.

Now when our Saviour had told the disciples of John his workes and miracles which he did, he addeth a pretty clause, and giveth them a good privie nippe, saying, And blessed is he that is not offended by me.-Id. Third Ser. in Advent.

Oria. I doc confess I'm too easie, too much woman,
Not coy enough to take affection;
Yet I can frown and nip a passion,
Even in the bud.

Beaum. & Fletch. The Woman Haler, Act iii. se. 1.
As his foe went then suffis'd away,
Thoas Ætolius threw a dart, that did his pile convey
Above his nipple, through his lungs.
Chapman. Homer. Iliad, b. iv.

God's prescription is, that we bestir ourselves betimes, that we nip sin when it begins to bud in the thoughts, and to crop it off as soon as it shoots forth in the desires. South, vol. vi. Ser. 4.

When nipping Eurus, with the brutal force
Of Boreas, join'd in ruffian league, assail
Your ripen'd hop-grounds.-Grainger. Sugar Cane, b. ii.

NIS, i. e. Ne is, or is not.

In his bed ther draweth him no day,
That he n'is clad and redy for to ride
With hunte and horne, and houndes him beside.

Chaucer. The Knightes Tale, v. 1679.
Leave me those hilles where harbrough nis to see,
Nor holy-bush, nor brere, nor winding ditch.

Id. Dreame.

Spenser. Shepheard's Calender. June. NIST, i. c. Ne wist, or wist not, knew not. For veray wo out of his wit he braide, He n'iste what to speake but thus he saide. Chaucer. The Frankeleines Tale, 13,340. Methought he lough, and told my name, Which was to me maruaile, and fere, That what to doe I nist there, Ne whether was me bet or none, There to abide, or thus begone. The sea on beat on euery side, Thei nisten what fortune abide, But sette hem well in God's will, Where he hem wolde saue or spill.-Gower. Con. A. b. lil. NIT. A. S. Hnitu; Dut. Nete; Ger. NITTY. Nisse; Sw. Gnet. In Exodus, (c. viii. v. 16,) the A. S. is gnættas, (gnats;) Lat. version ciniphes; our version lice. (See GNAT.) Skinner would derive from Gr. Nuoσew, to prick, to pene

trate.

The head many times is pestered with nits; but for to rid them away, there is no better thing than dog's grease. Holland. Plinie, b. xxix. c. 6.

I'll know the poor, egregious nilly rascal.

B. Jonson. Poetaster. Horses which go abroad, and are seldom dressed, are somewhat discoloured by the numerous nits adhering to their hair.-Derham. Physico-Theology, b. iv. c. 24.

NITENCY. Lat. Nitens, from niti, to strive, to endeavour.

Endeavour, effort.

For the atoms of fire flowing in, in great numbers, and passing through with a very rapid motion, must needs acce lerate the motion of these particles, from which acceleration their spring, or endeavour outward, will be augmented; that is, those zones will have a strong nitency to fly wider open.-Boyle. Werks, vol. i. p. 179.

NITID. It. and Sp. Nitido; Lat. Nitidus. See NEAT.

ני

Clean, clear, bright.

Thus we restore old pieces of dirty gold to a clean and nitid yellow, by putting them into the fire, and into aquafortis, which take off the adventitious filth that made the pure metal look of a dirty colour.-Boyle. Works, vol.i. p.685.

NITRE. NITROUS. NITRY.

Fr. Nitre; It. Nitro; Lat. N trum; Gr. NiTpov. Cotgrave describes it as

A salt-resembling substance, of colour lightruddy or white, and full of holes like a sponge.

As for waters and fountaines of nitre, there bee ynow of them in many places, howbeit, the same have no astringent vertue at all. But the best nitre is found about Clytae in the marches of Macedonie, where there is most plentie thereof.-Holland. Plinic, b. xxxi. c. 10.

But admirable is the nature of the lake Ascanius, and of certain fountaines about Chalcis, where the water above. and which floteth uppermost, is fresh and potable; but all beneath and under it toward the bottome is nitrous.-Id. 15,