nixie

¹

[ nik-see ]

noun

1. a letter or parcel that is undeliverable by the post office because of a faulty or illegible address.

nixie

²

[ nik-see ]

noun

, German Folklore.

1. a female water spirit.

nixie

/ ˈnɪksɪ /

noun

1. German myth a female water sprite, usually unfriendly to humans

Word History and Origins

Origin of nixie¹

First recorded in 1880–85; nix ¹ + -ie

Origin of nixie²

1810–20; < German Nixe ( Middle High German nickese, Old High German nicchessa; nix ² ), perhaps construed at time of borrowing as nix ² + -ie

Word History and Origins

Origin of nixie¹

C19: see nix

Example Sentences

The Heritage Series Pony is more my speed: a small, three-door concept that, I kid you not, has a Nixie tube speedometer and horsepower meter.

From The Verge

The family’s two yappy dogs — Stella and Nixie, a terrier mix and a pug-Labrador mix — were relegated to a room from which they could not see squirrels.

From New York Times

I spot a nixie in a black velvet mask eating a tiny sparrow’s heart off a long pin.

From Literature

I think of the river and how, when one nixie detached from the others, Cardan waited until it paused and then left so we could get out of the water.

From Literature

“In Texas, Beto is going to make us vote,” Kathleen Nixie, of Galveston, who came to the rally dressed in the white dress and gold sash of a suffragette, said.

From The New Yorker

Related Words

• gnome
• gremlin