nisus

American  

[nahy-suhs] / ˈnaɪ səs /

noun

plural

nisus

1. an effort or striving toward a particular goal or attainment; impulse.

---

nisus British  

/ ˈnaɪsəs /

noun

1. an impulse towards or striving after a goal

---

Etymology

Origin of nisus

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin nīsus “planting one’s feet firmly, strong muscular effort,” equivalent to nīt(ī) “to support or exert oneself” + -sus, variant of -tus suffix denoting the action of the verb

Example Sentences

They put forth their nisus, and produce phenomena by a fixed and invariable law, established by the divine will.

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip

The will is the cause of its own act; a cause per se, a cause self-conscious and self-moving; it obeys the reason by its own nisus.

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip

Must its nisus, its self-determining energy, or its volition, follow a uniform and inevitable law?

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip

If cause have not within itself a nisus to produce phenomena, then wherein is it a cause?

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip

When the determination is in the direction of the sensitivity, there is a play of emotions and passions, but the will again knows only the nisus of power which carries it in this direction.

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip