nick
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /nɪk/
homophone: nic
homophone: Nick
rhymes: -ɪk
Forms: form: nicks
form: nicking
form: nicked
form: nicked
Etymology: The noun is derived from Late Middle English nik (“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 Danish nikke (“to nod”), Middle Dutch nicken (“to bend; to bow”) (modern Dutch knikken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German nicken (“to bend over; to sink”), Middle High German nicken (“to bend; to depress”) (modern German nicken (“to nod”)), Middle Low German knicken (“to bend; to snap”) (modern German knicken (“to bend; to break”), Old Frisian hnekka (“to nod”), and Swedish nicka (“to nod”), has been clearly established.
Senses: examples: text: I nicked myself while I was shaving.
text: This man pauses in his shaving to squint at the piece of paper again, razor hesitant, eye returning anxious but reluctant to the blurred letters. [...] He nicks himself and the tired blood trickles a moment, stops easily these days almost before the cotton-wool sticks.
ref: 1974, Thea Astley, A Kindness Cup, Melbourne, Vic.: Thomas Nelson Australia, →ISBN; republished Sydney, N.S.W.; Melbourne, Vic.: Allen & Unwin House of Books, 2012, →ISBN, pages 1–2:
glosses: To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
examples: text: The itch of his Affection ſhould not then / Haue nickt his Captain-ſhip, at ſuch a point, / When halfe to halfe the world oppos'd, he being / The meered queſtion?
ref: c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene xiii], page 356, column 2:
english: The itch of his affection should not then / Have marred his captainship, at such a point, / When half of the world was opposing the other half, he being / the crucial player?
translation: The itch of his affection should not then / Have marred his captainship, at such a point, / When half of the world was opposing the other half, he being / the crucial player?
bold_translation_offsets: 49
55
text: But, give him port and potent ſack, / From milkſop he ſtarts up Mohack; / Holds that the happy know no hours; / So through the ſtreets at midnight ſcowers, / Breaks watchmen's heads and chairmen's glaſſes, / And thence proceeds to nicking ſaſhes; […]
ref: c. 1715–1717, Matthew Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind. In Three Cantos”, in The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior, Esq. […], Edinburgh: Printed by Mundell and Son, […], published 1793, →OCLC; republished in Robert Anderson, editor, The Works of the British Poets. […], volume VII, London: Printed for John & Arthur Arch; and for Bell & Bradfute, and J. Mundell & Co. Edinburgh, 1795, →OCLC, canto III, page 466, column 2:
glosses: To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
To make ragged or uneven, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to deface, to mar.
examples: text: The barbarous custom of docking and nicking the tail, and cutting the ears of horses, is too prevalent. [...] [I]n the loss of their tail, they find even a still greater inconvenience. During summer they are perpetually teazed with swarms of insects that either attempt to suck their blood or deposit their eggs in the rectum, which they have no means of lashing off; and in winter they are deprived of a necessary defence against the cold. [From the Boston Yankee.]
ref: 1815, Henry Bracken, “Receipts. To Cure the Grease, Surfeits, Loss of Appetite, Cough, Shortness of Breath; to Purify the Blood, and to Fatten Tired and Wasted Horses. [Additional Information.]”, in Taplin Improved; or A Complete Treatise on the Art of Farriery, […], Troy, N.Y.: Printed and sold by Francis Adancourt, […], →OCLC, pages 117–118:
text: Nicking a horse has been generally believed to be attended with much difficulty, and to require great ingenuity and art to perform the operation. The nicking alone, is by far the easiest part, as the curing and pullying requires considerable attention and trouble. Nicking is an operation performed for the purpose of making a horse carry an elegant artificial tail, which adds much to his beauty and value.
ref: 1830, Richard Mason, “Nicking”, in The Gentleman’s New Pocket Farrier, Comprising a General Description of the Noble and Useful Animal the Horse; […], 5th edition, Richmond, Va.: Printed by Peter Cottom, […], page 48:
glosses: To make a nick or notch in; to cut or scratch in a minor way.
To make a crosscut or cuts on the underside of (the tail of a horse, in order to make the animal carry it higher).
examples: text: An Alluſion is as it were a dalliance or playing with words, like in ſound, vnlike in ſense, by changing, adding, or ſubtracting a letter or two; ſo that words nicking and reſembling one the other, are appliable to diffrent ſignifications.
ref: 1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “Allusions”, in Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, →OCLC, page 140:
glosses: To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
examples: text: [I]t requires a Critical Nicety both of Wit, and of Judgment, to find out the Genius, or the Propenſions, of a Child, […] The Juſt Seaſon of Doing Things must be Nick'd, and All Accidents Obſerv'd and Improv'd; for Weak Minds are to be as Narrowly Attended, as Sickly Bodies: […]
ref: 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Æsop, &c.] Fab[le] XXXVIII. A Horse and an Asse. [Reflexion].”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 38:
glosses: To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
examples: text: Two balls later, I nick one and it carries beautifully to Peter Bowler at first slip, a complete dolly catch, and he drops it.
ref: 2013, Ian Botham, with Dean Wilson, “Steve James – Fine Dining”, in Beefy’s Cricket Tales: My Favourite Stories from On and Off the Field, London: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 145:
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
To hit the ball with the edge of the bat and produce a fine deflection.
examples: text: My old luck: I never nick'd ſeven that I did not throw ames ace three times following.
ref: 1773, [Oliver] Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer: Or, The Mistakes of a Night. A Comedy. […], London: […] F[rancis] Newbery, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 63:
text: The points to nick each main have been mentioned before, and the table on dice will show how many chances there are to throw each of these points with 2 dice, which together form the numerator, and 36 (being all the chances on 2 dice) the denominator of the fraction that expresses the probability. If 5 is the main, 5 will be the only nick, and the chances to throw 5 being 4, ⁴⁄₃₆ is the probability, which is 8 to 1 against nicking 5, and the same against nicking 9.
ref: [1814], William Rouse, “Problem XXX. What are the Probabilities of Nicking each Main?”, in The Doctrine of Chances, or The Theory of Gaming, Made Easy to Every Person Acquainted with Common Arithmetic, […], London: Printed by Gye & Balne, […], for the author, published by Lackington, Allen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 150:
text: Tom Moor was fond of gaming, and often lost large sums of money; finding his business neglected in his absence, he had a small hazard table set up in one corner of his dining-room, and invited a party of his friends to play at it. [...] [O]ne of them being a constant winner, the others would say, "Damn it, how he nicks them."
ref: 1888, “The Jackdaw”, in W[illiam] B[utler] Yeats, editor, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (The Camelot Series), London: Walter Scott, […]; New York, N.Y.: Thomas Whittaker; Toronto, Ont.: W. J. Gage & Co., →OCLC, page 304:
topics: games
gaming
glosses: To fit into or suit, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
To throw or turn up (a number when playing dice); to hit upon.
examples: text: A practice then prevailed of blasting without nicking the side of the place which still continues and of conducting the current of air too far by means of brattice, to both of which practices I raised a strong objection. They admitted their inability to make the men nick the coal as they formerly did and thought the application of brattice could not be properly defined, but that it should be left to the discretion of the manager of each particular mine as to the distance openings should be made apart between the intake and return air courses.
ref: 1872 February 28, Peter Higson, “[Mines. Reports of the Inspectors of Mines, to Her Majesty’s Secretary of State, for the Year 1871. Chapter 653.] Report of the Working of the Mines Inspection Act (23 & 24 Vict. c. 151.) in the West Lancashire and North Wales District, during the Year ended 31st December 1871.”, in Reports from Commissioners: Twenty-two Volumes. […], volume XVI, London: Printed by George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswode, […], for Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, →OCLC, page 58:
topics: business
mining
glosses: To make a cut at the side of the face.
examples: text: Someone’s nicked my bike!
text: As I'm on the ground, my bat and one of the stumps are grabbed out of my hands. [...] At that point, I look up and see Adrian [Dale] – with two stumps in his hands! Hugh [Morris] has given him one and his brother Gary, who is a policeman, has seen the bloke who nicked it off me and wrestled it off him and given [it] to Adrian. He didn't get my bat back, though.
ref: 2013, Ian Botham, with Dean Wilson, “Steve James – Fine Dining”, in Beefy’s Cricket Tales: My Favourite Stories from On and Off the Field, London: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, pages 145–146:
glosses: To steal.
examples: text: The police nicked him climbing over the fence of the house he’d broken into.
text: Flick knives were pulled on us, and the group demanded we give them all our money, and passports and everything else we had. [...] They [the police] had nicked the knife gang, (who had stayed there, beating the shit out of Nick), and found our passports.
ref: 2012, T. Appleby, “Die in Dunkirk or Somewhere in France”, in Life in the Harsh Lane: The Nine Lives, Mishaps, and Adventures of a No-body, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 113:
text: [...] I was always getting nicked when I was a junkie, so I've had my fair share of skirmishes with the law.
ref: 2014, Russell Brand, “I am an Anarchist-a”, in Revolution, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 81:
topics: government
law-enforcement
glosses: To arrest.
Derived terms: word: nickable
word: nick off
word: nick up
word: nicker
word: nicking
Related terms: pernickety