nithing

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈnaɪðɪŋ/ UK /ˈnaɪðɪŋ/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a contemptible or cowardly person; a wretch (archaic)

In the old saga the traitor was branded a nithing.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a contemptible or cowardly... coward wretch cravendastardvillain poltroon

Opposites

hero

Word family

Related forms niddering

Etymology

From Old English nīðing ('outlaw, coward, villain'), from nīð ('malice, enmity, strife'); reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse níðingr.

nīðing Old English nīð Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives Register & Style

# nithing

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈnaɪðɪŋ
**IPA (UK):** ˈnaɪðɪŋ

## Meanings
1. a contemptible or cowardly person; a wretch (archaic)

## Examples
- In the old saga the traitor was branded a nithing.

## Synonyms
- coward
- wretch
- craven
- dastard
- villain
- poltroon

## Antonyms
- hero

## Related Forms
- niddering

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: nīðing
- Root: nīð

## Etymology
From Old English nīðing ('outlaw, coward, villain'), from nīð ('malice, enmity, strife'); reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse níðingr.

## AI Etymology
Nithing comes from Old English nīðing ('outlaw, coward, villain'), from nīð ('malice, enmity, strife'); reinforced in Middle English by Old Norse níðingr. The etymological trail includes Old English nīðing and Old English nīð. As a noun, nithing means a contemptible or cowardly person; a wretch (archaic). The same family is visible in related forms such as niddering.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- Register & Style

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