nice

Forms

nice (plural nices)^[1] Old French also niche.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French nice, inherited from Latin nescius (“ignorant, not knowing”), from nesciō (“not to know”), a compound of the negation ne and sciō (“to know”).^[3][4][5][1]

Cognate with Italian nescio, Old Occitan nesci, Catalan nici, Spanish necio and Portuguese nescio.^[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1160 in the Moniage Guillaume, meaning “foolish, simple-minded”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the adjective meant foolish, naive or simple, as in the Roman de la Rose (tu es fox et nices).^[3][2] Richelet called it old in 1680, but it lived on in regional speech with various pejorative shades.^[3] In old law, an action nice (1537) was a suit founded on a promesse nice (1611, Cotgrave), a bare promise made without pledge or security.^[3][2] English borrowed the Old French word in the late 13th century as nice “foolish”, which later shifted to “fastidious”, “delicate” and “pleasant”.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – “Foolish” in the Moniage Guillaume.^[3]
• 1225–30 – The diminutive nicet in Guillaume de Lorris.^[3]
• Late 13th century – English borrows it as nice.^[7]
• 1537 – Action nice in Boutillier's Grand Coustumier.^[3]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records promesse nice.^[3]
• 1680 – Richelet labels it old.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (archaic or regional) Simple, naive, simple-minded.^[3][8]
2. (old law) Promesse nice: a promise backed by no security, and action nice, an action founded on one.^[8][2][5]

Word family

• nicet

Related words

• nescience
• Latin nescius
• English nice

Usage notes

Littré notes a 16th-century nice meaning “pretty” in Rabelais, which he takes from the English word.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale