nihil Latin · revision 17739

18 Oct 2026, 18:36 by bogdan “Latin la10k: at, an, pro, autem, sine, nihil, modo, quia, quidam, apud”
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=la hīlum}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈni.(ɦ)ɪɫ]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈniː.kil]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''nihil''' (indeclinable)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is the shortened form of [[nihilum]], from ⟨*ne hīlom⟩ “not a bit”, from the negative [[m|la|ne-]] and [[hīlum|t=a tiny amount]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(Lewis & Short 1879) 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.^(de Vaan 2008) “Hīlum” itself has no etymology.^(de Vaan 2008) The contracted form [[nīl]] is usual in verse and colloquial prose.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ It is found from Plautus on: ''nihil est quod facere māvelim'' “there is nothing I would rather do”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ ''Nihil'' means “nothing”, and with a genitive “no …” (''nihil cibī'' “no food”).^(OLD 2012) As an adverb it means “not at all, in no respect”, and rarely “for nothing, in vain”.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) It combines in ''[[nihilōminus]]'' “none the less” and ''nōn nihil'' “something”.^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 250–184 BC – First found in Plautus.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)
+ * c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius has the short form ''nīl''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero: ''nihil est agrī cultūrā melius'', “nothing is better than farming”.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Pronoun===
+ # [[m|en|nothing]];^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) ''(with genitive)'' no …, none of.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ # Nothing (good, better, etc.).^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ===Adverb===
+ # Not at all, in no respect.^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)
+ # ''(rare)'' For nothing, in vain.^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[nihilōminus]]
+ * [[nōnnihil]]
+ * [[nihildum]]
+ * [[adnihilō]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[nihilum]]
+ * [[hīlum]]
+ * [[nēmō]]
+ * [[nūllus]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}