English
nihilist
Nihilist comes from Latin nihil ‘nothing’, and goes back to hīlum ‘the least bit’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhīlum‘the least bit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnihil‘nothing’
- Englishearliest quotation 1978nihilist
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhīlum‘the least bit’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnihil‘nothing’
- Englishearliest quotation 1978nihilist
Earliest quotation: 1978, 1976, Leszek Kołakowski: “Bauer used the same arguments as Rosa Luxemburg, though…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *fī(s)lom
through Latin fīlum ‘thread’
file, filament, fillet, 46 more
through Latin nihil ‘nothing’
Today it means
noun A person who accepts or champions nihilism.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin hīlum / nihilist