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nip

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

See also: Nip, NIP, and níp

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From late Middle English nippen, probably of Low German or Dutch origin, probably a byform of earlier *knippen (suggested by the derivative Middle English knippette (“pincers”)), from Middle Low German knîpen, from Old Saxon *knīpan, from Proto-West Germanic *knīpan, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *knīpaną (“to pinch”).

Related to Dutch nijpen, knijpen (“to pinch”), Danish nive (“pinch”); Swedish nypa (“pinch”); Low German knipen; German kneipen and kneifen (“to pinch, cut off, nip”), Old Norse hnippa (“to prod, poke”); Lithuanian knebti.

Alternative forms

Verb

nip (third-person singular simple present nips, present participle nipping, simple past and past participle nipped)

  1. To catch and enclose or compress tightly between two surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon.
    • 1859, Alfred Tennyson, Idylls of the King, Merlin and Vivien:
      May this hard earth cleave to the Nadir hell, Down, down, and close again, and nip me flat, If I be such a traitress.
  2. To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip.
    • 1716, John Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry‎:
      The small shoots ... must be nipt off.
  3. To benumb [e.g., cheeks, fingers, nose] by severe cold.
  4. To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy.
  5. To annoy, as by nipping.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene:
      And sharp remorse his heart did prick and nip.
  6. To taunt.
  7. (Scotland, Northern England) To squeeze or pinch.
  8. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) To steal; especially to cut a purse.
    • 1611, Thomas Middleton, “The Roaring Girl”, in Arthur Henry Bullen, editor, The Works of Thomas Middleton‎, volume 4, published 1885, act 5, scene 1, pages 128–129:
      Ben mort, shall you and I heave a bough, mill a ken, or nip a bung, and then we'll couch a hogshead under the ruffmans, and there you shall wap with me, and I'll niggle with you.
    • 1712, J. Shirley, “The Black Procession”, in Farmer, John Stephen, editor, Musa Pedestris‎, verse 4, published 1896, page 38:
      The twelfth is a beau-trap, if a cull he does meet, / He nips all his cole, and turns him into the street.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:steal
  9. (obsolete) To affect [one] painfully; to cause physical pain.'
    • 1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part I, XII [Uniform ed., p. 136]:
      He had never expected to fling the soldier, or to be flung by Flea. “One nips or is nipped,” he thought, “and never knows beforehand. …"
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

nip (plural nips)

  1. A playful bite.
    The puppy gave his owner’s finger a nip.
  2. A pinch with the nails or teeth.
  3. Briskly cold weather.
    There is a nip in the air. It is nippy outside.
  4. A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching
    the nip of masses of ice
  5. A small cut, or a cutting off the end.
  6. (mining) A more or less gradual thinning out of a stratum.
  7. A blast; a killing of the ends of plants by frost.
  8. A biting sarcasm; a taunt.
  9. (nautical) A short turn in a rope.
  10. (papermaking) The place of intersection where one roll touches another
  11. (obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) A pickpocket.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:pickpocket
    • 1977, Gãmini Salgãdo, The Elizabethan Underworld, Folio Society, published 2006, page 27:
      A novice nip, newly arrived in London, went one afternoon to the Red Bull in Bishopsgate, an inn converted to a playhouse.
Derived terms
Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2

Short for nipperkin, ultimately from Middle Low German nippen or Middle Dutch nipen ("to sip; nip"; > Dutch nippen). Compare also German nippen (“to sip; taste”).

Noun

nip (plural nips)

  1. A small amount of food or drink, (particularly) a small amount of liquor.
    Synonyms: (of food) nibble, (specifically of alcohol) a little of the creature; see also Thesaurus:drink
    I’ll just take a nip of that cake.
    He had a nip of whiskey.
Synonyms
Translations

Etymology 3

Clipping of nipple.

Noun

nip (plural nips)

  1. (slang, vulgar) A nipple, usually of a woman.
    Did you manage to sneak a peek at her nips, bro?
    • 2023 August 28, Vanessa Friedman, quoting Eddye, Madison, Wis., “Are There Any Rules About Going Braless?”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:
      I find bras totally uncomfortable, hot and itchy, for both work and leisure. But looking around, I seem to be in the minority. What are the rules for going braless? Is it OK to show my nips, or is it rude?
Derived terms

Verb

nip (third-person singular simple present nips, present participle nipping, simple past and past participle nipped)

  1. (slang, vulgar) To have erect nipples.

Etymology 4

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

Verb

nip (third-person singular simple present nips, present participle nipping, simple past and past participle nipped)

  1. (informal) To make a quick, short journey or errand, usually a round trip.
    Why don’t you nip down to the grocer’s for some milk?
    • 2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL, number 969, page 58:
      My trip ends at Wrexham General. While the '150' trundles the final half-mile down the single line to Wrexham Central, I nip over the footbridge to explore the main part of the station.
    • 2025 March 1, Barney Ronay, “Crystal Palace through after Millwall keeper’s red for head-high tackle on Mateta”, in The Guardian‎:
      Palace made it 3-1 on 81 minutes, Nketiah nipping in to finish nicely, then doing a no-celebration pose in front of the away fans. Nketiah grew up a couple of miles from the Den. It felt, at the very least, like a neighbourly overture, and in violent contrast to the opening act at the other end.

Etymology 5

Canada 1931.

Noun

nip (plural nips)

  1. (Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario) A hamburger.

References

Anagrams

Albanian

Dutch

Old English

Old Irish

Romanian

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