nit

¹

[ nit ]

noun

1. the egg of a parasitic insect, especially of a louse, often attached to a hair or a fiber of clothing.
2. the young of such an insect.

nit

²

[ nit ]

noun

, Chiefly British.

1. a nitwit.

nit

³

[ nit ]

noun

, Physics.

1. a unit of luminous intensity equal to one candela per square meter. : nt

nit

¹

/ nɪt /

noun

1. informal.
   short for nitwit

nit

²

/ nɪt /

noun

1. a unit of luminance equal to 1 candela per square metre

nit

³

/ nɪt /

noun

1. a unit of information equal to 1.44 bits Also callednepit

nit

⁴

/ nɪt /

noun

1. keep nit informal.
   to keep watch, esp during illegal activity

nit

⁵

/ nɪt /

noun

1. the egg of a louse, especially when adhering to human hair
2. the larva of a louse or similar insect

Word History and Origins

Origin of nit¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English nite, nete, nette, Old English hnitu, cognate with Dutch neet, German Niss, Old Icelandic gnit, Norwegian gnett; akin to Welsh nedd, Polish gnida, Greek konís (stem konid- ), from Proto-Indo-European root knid- “egg of a louse”

Origin of nit²

First recorded in 1590–1600; perhaps from nit ¹( def ); perhaps from nit(wit) ( def )

Origin of nit³

First recorded in 1950–55; from French, extracted from Latin nitor “brightness, splendor”; nitid, -or ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of nit¹

C20: from Latin nitor brightness

Origin of nit²

C20: from N ( apierian dig ) it

Origin of nit³

C19: from nix ¹

Origin of nit⁴

Old English hnitu; related to Dutch neet, Old High German hniz

Related Words

• bug
• insect