nyce

Middle English

FWOTD – 11 August 2021

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French nice, from Latin nescius.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈniːs(ə)/

Adjective

nyce

  1. foolish, simple, ignorant, naive
  2. scared, weak, lazy
  3. fussy, careful, particular, scrupulous [from 14th c.]
  4. wanton, sinful, morally reprehensible [from 14th c.]
  5. cunning, keen, sharp [from 15th c.]
  6. extravagant, over-the-top [from 15th c.]
  7. (rare) fragile, delicate [from 15th c.]
  8. (rare) strange, odd, bizarre [from 15th c.]
    • a. 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “Book II”, in Troilus and Criseyde, lines 22–28:
      Ȝe knowe ek that in fourme of ſpeche is chaunge / With-inne a thousand ȝeer, and wordes tho /That hadden pris now wonder nyce and ſtraunge /Us thenketh hem, and ȝet thei ſpake hem so / And ſpedde as wel in loue as men now do / Ek forto wynnen loue in ſondry ages / In ſondry londes, ſondry ben vſages []
      You also know that the form of language is in flux; / within a thousand years, words / that had currency; really weird and bizarre / they seem to us now, but they still spoke them / and accomplished as much in love as men do now. / As for winning love across ages and / across nations, there are lots of usages []

Derived terms

Descendants

  • English: nice
  • Scots: nice
  • Yola: nicest

References

Noun

nyce (plural nyces)

  1. fool, simpleton
  2. morally reprehensible person

References

Adverb

nyce

  1. foolishly, naively

References

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.