Etymologically
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nihil

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈni.(ɦ)ɪɫ][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈniː.kil][1]

Forms

nihil (indeclinable)[1]

Etymology

It is the shortened form of nihilum, from ⟨*ne hīlom⟩ “not a bit”, from the negative ne- and hīlum (“a tiny amount”).[2][1][3] The shortening took place in unstressed position; the short /i/ of the second syllable may come from shortening before final /l/ or from iambic shortening.[2] ⟨Hīlum⟩ itself has no etymology.[2] The contracted form nīl is usual in verse and colloquial prose.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on: nihil est quod facere māvelim “there is nothing I would rather do”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Nihil means “nothing”, and with a genitive “no …” (nihil cibī “no food”).[4] As an adverb it means “not at all, in no respect”, and rarely “for nothing, in vain”.[4][1] It combines in nihilōminus “none the less” and nōn nihil “something”.[1][4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – First found in Plautus.[2][4]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius has the short form nīl.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: nihil est agrī cultūrā melius, “nothing is better than farming”.[3][5]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. nothing;[4][3] (with genitive) no …, none of.[4][3]
  2. Nothing (good, better, etc.).[4]

Adverb

  1. Not at all, in no respect.[1][6]
  2. (rare) For nothing, in vain.[1]

Word family

  • nihilōminus
  • nōnnihil
  • nihildum
  • adnihilō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson