nit

• IPA^(key): /nɪt/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪt
• Homophone: knit

From Middle English nite, from Old English hnitu, from Proto-Germanic *hnits (compare Dutch neet, German Nisse, Norwegian nit), from Proto-Indo-European *-níd- (compare Scottish Gaelic sneadh, Lithuanian gli̇̀nda, Polish gnida, Albanian thëri, Ancient Greek κονίς (konís)).

nit (plural nits)

1. The egg of a louse.
2. A young louse.
3. (UK, Ireland, slang) A head louse regardless of its age.
4. (UK, slang) A fool, a nitwit.
5. A minor shortcoming; the object of a nitpick.
6. A nitpicker.

• dickies (Geordie)

nit (third-person singular simple present nits, present participle nitting, simple past and past participle nitted)

1. (MLE) To have the modus vivendi of a drug addict, to live the life of a nitty.
   • 2018, “Rolling Round”, HL8 and SimpzBeatz (music), performed by Sparko of OMH:

     Can’t miss no dots
     Every shot let caused I’m hittin
     Used to bag it up in the toilet
     My mumsie thought I was shittin
     Ever seen a junky fittin?
     Ever stepped in a room full of needles?
     No I ain’t doin no nittin

From Latin nitēre (“to shine”).

nit (plural nits)

2. A candela per square metre.

   This brightness of this LCD screen is between 900 and 1000 nits.

nit (plural nits)

1. Synonym of nat (“logarithmic unit of information”).

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

nit (plural nits)

1. (poker) A player with an overly cautious and reactive playing style.

• nitty

• nit-noid (etymologically unrelated)

• INT, ITN, TIN, i'n't, in't, int, int., tin

• nuit (archaic)

Inherited from Old Catalan nuyt, from Latin nox, from Proto-Italic *nokts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈnit]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -it

nit f (plural nits)

1. night

   Antonyms: dia, jorn

   durant la nit ― during the night

• anit
• mitjanit

• “nit”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “nit”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “nit” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “nit” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

nit

1. water

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Inherited from Old Czech nit, from Proto-Slavic *nitь, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *nī́ˀtis, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁-.

• IPA^(key): [ˈɲɪt] (informally pronounced /ˈɲɪc/)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nit
• Rhymes: -ɪt

nit f

1. thread

• “nit”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “nit”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “nit”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

• gnit

From Old Norse gnit, from Proto-Germanic *hnits.

• IPA^(key): /nɪːt/
• Rhymes: -ɪːt
• Homophone: nyt

nit f (genitive singular nitar, no plural)

1. nit (egg of a louse)

Inherited from Old High German nīd.

• IPA^(key): (before 13^th CE) /ˈniːt/

nīt m

1. hate
2. hostility
   • 13th c., Neidhart von Reuental, Meienzīt:

     Meienzīt: Āne nīt,
     vrouden gīt wider strīt,
     sīn widerkommen kan uns allen hëlfen!

     The time of may: Without any hostility,
     It gives us joy, ending every quarrel.
     Its return can help all of us!

3. envy
4. malice

• German: Neid
• Luxembourgish: Näid

• Benecke, Georg Friedrich, Müller, Wilhelm, Zarncke, Friedrich (1863) “nît”, in Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch: mit Benutzung des Nachlasses von Benecke, Stuttgart: S. Hirzel

• IPA^(key): /niːt/

From the verb nite.

nit n (definite singular nitet, indefinite plural nit, definite plural nita)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

nit m (definite singular niten, indefinite plural nitar, definite plural nitane)

1. a nail, usually iron

• nite

• “nit” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• “nit”, in Norsk Ordbok: ordbok over det norske folkemålet og det nynorske skriftmålet, Oslo: Samlaget, 1950-2016
• “nit”, in Norsk teknisk ordbok (in Norwegian Nynorsk), 2nd edition, Oslo: Samlaget, 1984, page 530

• tin

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *nitь, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *nī́ˀtis, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁-.

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈɲit/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈɲit/

nit f

1. thread

• Czech: nit

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “nit”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

nit

1. water

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

Borrowed from German Niet, from Middle High German nieten, from Old High German hniotan, from Proto-West Germanic *hneudan, from Proto-Germanic *hneudaną.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɲit/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -it
• Syllabification: nit

nit m inan

1. rivet (mechanical fastener)

• nit in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• nit in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Borrowed from German Niet.

nit n (plural nituri)

1. rivet

nit

1. water

• Basic Vocabulary, pages 7-8

From Old Frisian [Term?]. Cognates include West Frisian net, Dutch niet and German nicht.

• IPA^(key): /nɪt/
• Hyphenation: nit
• Rhymes: -ɪt

nit

1. not
   • 2000, Marron C. Fort, transl., Dät Näie Tästamänt un do Psoolme in ju aasterlauwerfräiske Uurtoal fon dät Seelterlound, Fräislound, Butjoarlound, Aastfräislound un do Groninger Umelounde [The New Testament and the Psalms in the East Frisian language, native to Saterland, Friesland, Butjadingen, East Frisia and the Ommelanden of Groningen], →ISBN, Dät Evangelium ätter Matthäus 1:20:

     Wilst hie noch deeruur ättertoachte, ferskeen him n Ängel fon dän Here in n Droom un kwaad: Josef, Súun fon David, freze die nit, Maria as dien Wieuw bie die aptouníemen;

     While he was still thinking about it, came to him an angel from the Lord in a dream and said: Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Maria as your wife;

• Marron C. Fort (2015) “nit”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *nitь, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *nī́ˀtis, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁-.

• IPA^(key): /nîːt/

nȋt f (Cyrillic spelling ни̑т)

1. thread

• “nit”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

From Proto-Slavic *nitь, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *nī́ˀtis, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁-.

• IPA^(key): /nít/

nȉt f

1. thread

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, i-stem
nom. sing.	nit
gen. sing.	niti
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	nit	niti	niti
genitive (rodȋlnik)	niti	niti	niti
dative (dajȃlnik)	niti	nitma	nitim
accusative (tožȋlnik)	nit	niti	niti
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	niti	nitih	nitih
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	nitjo	nitma	nitmi

• “nit”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

From German Niet.

nit c

1. a rivet, a stud
2. the action of braking (a motor vehicle) very hard
3. a lottery ticket which gave no reward; a dud

   Synonym: nitlott

4. (by extension) a negative outcome
5. zeal

• (braking): tvärnit
• (lottery ticket): nitlott

• nita
• gå på en nit
• tvärnit

• nit in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• nit in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• nit in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

• int, tin

nit (nominative plural nits)

1. staple
2. staple for office stapler

nit (definite form nit ki)

1. person

• nëch (Slovakia)

nit

1. (Romania, including Wassertal) not

• Claus Stephani, Zipser Mära und Kasska (1989)
• Anton-Joseph Ilk, Zipser Volksgut aus dem Wassertal (1990)