Etymograph

English

Nice

Nice comes from Latin Nīcaea, and goes back to Ancient Greek νῑ́κη ‘victory’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνῑ́κη‘victory’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEΝῑ́καιαNī́kaia
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CENīcaea
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentNice
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2025same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEνῑ́κη‘victory’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEΝῑ́καιαNī́kaia
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CENīcaea
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentNice
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2025same form

Earliest quotation: 2025, Joseph Ataman, French streamer dies live online during extreme challenge: “The Nice prosecutor’s office told CNN that an investigation…”

The story

It was named for a 4th-century-BCE victory of its colonizing Phocaean Greeks over local Ligurians, probably the Vediantii.

Every English word from Ancient Greek νῑ́κη

Today it means

name A coastal city, the capital of Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeast France.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek νῑ́κη / Nice

Shirt and support for this word