nice English · revision 149

5 Oct 2026, 22:05 by bogdan “Add pronunciation, sense history, timeline, meanings, word family, related words” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /naɪ̯s/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
  ==Etymology==
− From [[enm|nice|t=foolish, stupid]],^(AHD)^(RHWU) [[bor|fro|nice|t=simple, foolish, silly]],^(Wiktionary)^(RHWU) [[der|la|nescius|t=ignorant, not knowing]],^(AHD)^(OED 1989) from ''ne-'' “not” + ''scīre'' “to know”.^(RHWU)^(Etymonline) Compare [[science]].^(Etymonline)
+ From [[enm|nice|t=foolish, stupid]],^(AHD)^(RHWU) [[bor|fro|nice|t=simple, foolish, silly]],^(Wiktionary)^(RHWU) [[der|la|nescius|t=ignorant, not knowing]],^(AHD)^(OED 1989) from ''ne-'' “not” + ''scīre'' “to know”.^(RHWU)^(Etymonline)
  
− Recorded from the late 13th century,^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) the word has passed through a remarkable series of senses: “foolish”, then “timid”, “fussy, fastidious” (late 14th century), “dainty, delicate” (c. 1400), “precise, careful” (16th century), “agreeable, delightful” (1769) and “kind, thoughtful” (1830).^(Etymonline) The OED notes that the precise development of these senses is not altogether clear.^(OED 1989)
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Of persons, “foolish, ignorant, frivolous, senseless” (late 13th century).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The word has passed through a remarkable series of senses: “foolish”, then “timid”, “fussy, fastidious” (late 14th century), “dainty, delicate” (c. 1400), “precise, careful” (16th century), “agreeable, delightful” (1769), and “kind, thoughtful” (1830).^(Etymonline) The OED notes that the precise development of these senses is not altogether clear.^(OED 1989) By 1926 Fowler complained that the word had lost its individuality and expressed only vague, mild agreeableness.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 1290 – of persons, “foolish, stupid”.^(OED 1989)
+ * c. 1325 – “wanton, loose-mannered”, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)
+ * late 14th century – “fussy, fastidious”.^(Etymonline)
+ * c. 1400 – “dainty, delicate”.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1413 – “strange, rare”, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)
+ * 16th century – “precise, careful”.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1769 – “agreeable, delightful”.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1830 – “kind, thoughtful”.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Pleasant, agreeable.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Kind, friendly, polite.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Respectable, virtuous.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Showing or requiring great precision or delicacy; subtle, as in ''a nice distinction''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)
+ # Fastidious, fussy.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)
+ # ''(obsolete)'' Foolish; wanton.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[nicely]]
+ * [[niceness]]
+ * [[nicety]]
+ * [[nice-nelly]]
+ * [[nice-nellyism]]
+ * [[overnice]]
+ * [[unnice]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[science]]
+ * [[silly]]
+ * [[fond]]
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ Given the word's varied history, Random House warns against insisting that only one of its present senses is correct;^(RHWU) a more valid criticism is that it is overused and has become imprecise.^(RHWU) It is often used sarcastically, as in ''a nice mess''.^(Wiktionary)
  
  ==References==