Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Wickedness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun obsolete Envy; hatred.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English nith, nithe, from Old English nīþ ("envy, hatred, enmity, rancor, spite, ill-will, jealousy, action which arises from hatred, strife, war, hostility, the effect of hatred, persecution, trouble, vexation, annoyance, affliction, tribulation, grief, evil, wickedness, malice, an instance of wickedness or malice, enmity, attack, oppression"), from Proto-Germanic *nīþaz, *nīþan (“zeal, envy, hatred, fight”), from Proto-Indo-European *neid- (“to revile”). Cognate with Dutch nijd ("envy"), German Neid ("envy, jealousy"), Swedish regional nid ("hatred, envy"), Icelandic níð ("hatred, envy").

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Examples

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  • Obs. n., Envy, malice, hatred; enmity, ill-will.

    August 6, 2008