nit
English
/nɪt/
noun
Definitions
- The egg of a louse.
- A young louse.
- (UK) A head louse regardless of its age.
- (UK) A fool, a nitwit.
- A nitpicker.
- A minor shortcoming.
Etymology
Derived from Middle English nite derived from Old English hnitu derived from Proto-Germanic *hnits (nit) derived from Proto-Indo-European *ḱ(o)nid-.
Origin
Proto-Indo-European
*ḱ(o)nid-
Gloss
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- grass English
- nitgrass English
- nitpick English
- nitpicker English
- nitpickery English
- nitpicking English
- nitpickingly English
- nitpickish English
- nitpicky English
- nitter English
- nittily English
- nitty English
- nitwit English
- nitwittery English
- nitwittish English
- pick English
- picking English
- wit English
- Nisse German
- neet Dutch, Flemish
- *ḱ(o)nid- Proto-Indo-European
- *hnits Proto-Germanic
- gnida Polish
- gnidosz Polish
- hnitu Old English
- nite Middle English
- gnit Old Norse
- *gňida Proto-Slavic
- անիծ Armenian
- nete Middle Dutch
- niz Old High German
- անիծ Old Armenian
- *hnitu gmw-pro