English
nice
Nice comes from Middle English nyce ‘foolish’, from Latin nescius ‘ignorant’, and ultimately from Latin sciō ‘to know’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsciō‘to know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnesciō‘not to know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnescius‘ignorant’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400nice
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nyce‘foolish’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592nice
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsciō‘to know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnesciō‘not to know’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnescius‘ignorant’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400nice
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nyce‘foolish’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592nice
Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Old fashions please me best; I am not so…”
Linked words
pairs
- nice and science both from Latin sciō ‘to know’
through Proto-Indo-European *skey- ‘to split, to dissect’
ship, equipment, shift, shed, skip, kyle, ski, conscience, shin, squire, sheath, skeet, scuttle, prescient, skiff, chine, skein, scullery, shud, 41 more
through Proto-Italic *skijō
omniscience, prescience, 14 more
through Latin sciō ‘to know’
Today it means
adj Pleasant, satisfactory, complimentary.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin sciō / nice