nil

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin nīl (“nothing”),^[2][3][4][5] a contraction of nihil (“nothing”),^[2][3][5][6] itself a shortening of nihilum,^[7][2] formed from the negative particle ne- (“not”) and hīlum (“a small thing, trifle”),^[2][5][8][9] so that it meant etymologically "not a jot".^[7] The negative goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ne- (“not”);^[5] the origin of hīlum is unknown.^[5][8] Dictionary.com derives the form from nīlum, a variant of the full word.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nothing, no amount: about 1550, in a record of the Lancashire chantries, and the OED notes an earlier example of 1472–4 that may be the Latin word in an English text.^[2] Merriam-Webster also dates it to about 1550,^[9] but other dictionaries find the word only in the 19th century: Dictionary.com between 1805 and 1815,^[10] Barnhart and Etymonline in 1833.^[8][5]

Semantic evolution

In the late 16th century nil was also briefly an adverb, "not at all" (1581–94),^[2] and in the early 19th century a legal term.^[2][11] In mid-19th-century slang it meant half, or half-profits, according to Hotten's slang dictionary of 1859.^[12] Its commonest use now is in giving the scores of games, especially in British English.^[2][13][11] Since 1937 it has also been an adjective, "non-existent, amounting to nothing".^[2][9] The Latin phrase nil desperandum, "nothing is to be despaired of", is used loosely for "never give up".^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1550 – nothing, zero.^[2][9] Barnhart and Etymonline date the word to 1833.^[8][5]
• 1581 – adverb, not at all (obsolete by 1594).^[2]
• 1798 – a legal use (obsolete by 1811).^[2]
• 1859 – slang, half, half-profits.^[12]
• 1937 – adjective, non-existent.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Nothing; zero: His interest in the project was close to nil.^[13][9][2]
2. (chiefly British) A score of nothing in a game: They lost four–nil.^[13][9][11]

Adjective

1. Non-existent; amounting to nothing (usually after the verb).^[9][2]

Word family

• nilpotent

Related words

• nihilism
• nihil
• annihilate

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
8. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
9. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
11. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins