niche English · revision 15529

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=1610}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /niːʃ/, /nɪt͡ʃ/ ''(UK)''; /nɪt͡ʃ/, /niʃ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|niche|t=recess, kennel]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) perhaps from [[it|nicchia|t=niche, nook]], from [[m|it|nicchio|t=seashell]], probably from [[la|mitulus|t=mussel]], though the change of m to n is unexplained.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Others derive it from [[m|fro|nichier|t=to make a nest]], from [[la-vul|*nīdicō]], from [[la|nīdus|t=nest]] (see [[nest]]),^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) which Etymonline finds also has difficulties.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A shallow recess in a wall, as for a statue: 1611, in Cotgrave's dictionary, in Barnhart and the OED, the 1610s in Etymonline;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster gives 1610.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A small vaulted recess or chamber is from 1662,^(OED 1989) and a natural recess in rock from 1856.^(OED 1989) The figurative sense, a place or position suited to a person, is first in Swift's ''To a Lady'' (1726), by 1725 in Etymonline.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) The ecological sense, the position of a plant or animal in its community, is from 1927.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) A specialized area of demand for a product, a niche market, is a later commercial use.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) The verb is from 1753.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1611 – a recess in a wall.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1662 – a vaulted chamber.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1726 – a suitable position.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1753 – to niche (verb).^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1927 – an ecological niche.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A shallow [[recess]] in a wall, as for a statue or ornament.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A position or role that suits someone well: ''she found her niche''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A specialized but profitable segment of a market.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(ecology)'' The role or position of an organism in its environment.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Aimed at a small specialized group: ''a niche market''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[econiche]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nest]]

+ * [[nidus]]

+ * [[nook]]

+ * [[alcove]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}