noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
nīs
/ˈnaɪs/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -aɪs
homophone: nice
CMU ARPABET:N AY1 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock having bands or veins, but not schistose.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a laminated metamorphic rock similar to granite
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: metamorphic rock
History
Etymology
From German Gneis, from Middle High German gneist (“spark”), from Old High German gneisto (“spark”). More at gnast.
Across languages
Translations
34 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
gneis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Basque:
gneiss
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Catalan:
gneis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Chinese Mandarin:
片麻岩
(piànmáyán)
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Czech:
rula
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Danish:
gnejs
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Dutch:
gneis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Esperanto:
gnejso
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Estonian:
gneiss
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Finnish:
gneissi
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
French:
gneiss
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
German:
Gneis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Greek:
γνεύσιος
(gnéfsios)
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Hungarian:
gneisz
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Ido:
gneiso
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Italian:
ortogneiss
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Japanese:
片麻岩
(henmagan)
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Korean:
편마암
(pyeonmaam)
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Lithuanian:
gneisas
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Luxembourgish:
Gneis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Macedonian:
гнајс
(gnajs)
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Norwegian Bokmål:
gneis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Norwegian Nynorsk:
gneis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Persian:
گنیس
(gneys)
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Polish:
gnejs
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Portuguese:
gneisse
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Russian:
гнейс
(gnejs)
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Serbo-Croatian:
гнајс
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Serbo-Croatian:
gnajs
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Spanish:
neis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Spanish:
gneis
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Swedish:
gnejs
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Ukrainian:
гнейс
(hnejs)
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
Vietnamese:
gơ-nai
— common and widely-distributed metamorphic rock
