English
Old Nick
Old Nick may come from Old English nicor ‘water demon’.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nicor‘water demon’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1886Old Nick
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150nicor‘water demon’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1886Old Nick
Earliest quotation: 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Folk and Fairy Tales: “He sat down in the middle of the floor,…”
The story
Apparently a special use of the forename Nick, perhaps in jocular or contrastive reference to Saint Nicholas. Alternatively, it may be derived from nicker, or some other derivative of Old English nicor (‘water demon’).disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *neygʷ- ‘to wash’
Today it means
name The Devil; Satan.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English nicor / Old Nick