Standard Lemma guide

nithing

adj · noun · 4 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.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˈnaɪðɪŋ/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Cowardly, dastardly.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nidering, niddering, backboneless, base, bitch-ass, boneless, caitiff, candy-assed, chicken, chicken-hearted, chicken-livered, chickenshit, courageless, cowardish, cowardly, cowardy, cowhearted, cowish, craven, cravenhearted, cringey, dastard, dastardly, dickless, dough-faced, fainthearted, fearful, fraidy, gizzardless, heartless, invalorous, invertebrate, gutless, hen-hearted, kiasi, lily-livered, liver-faced, liver-hearted, low-hearted, miching, milky, milk-livered, mouse-hearted, mousy, nerveless, niding, nithing, nutless, pigeon-livered, poltroonish, poor-spirited, punk, pusillanimous, pussylike, ratlike, rabbit-hearted, recrayed, retromingent, sissy, spineless, timid, timorous, unhearty, weak-kneed, white-hearted, white-livered, wimpish, yellow, yellow-bellied

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Notoriously evil or wicked; infamous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nidering, niddering, abandoned, arrant, bad, bad apple, bad seed, baleful, scurrilous, baneful, base, black-hearted, dark, deleterious, demonic, depraved, despicable, detrimental, devilish, diabolical, evil, evil-minded, facinorous, flagitious, harmful, heinous, ill-intentioned, ill-natured, immoral, incorrigible, iniquitous, iniquous, injurious, knavish, malefic, maleficent, malevolent, malicious, malign, malignant, naughty, nefarious, niding, nithing, no-good, peccaminous, pernicious, reprehensible, reprobate, satanic, scathful, sinful, sinister, sordid, sullen, ungodly, unholy, vicious, vile, villainous, wicked, wrong, disreputable, ill-famed, infamous, notorious

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A coward, a dastard; a wretch.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: nidering, niddering, bottler, caitiff, candy-ass, candy-arse, coistril, coward, chicken, chicken liver, chickenshit, cocktail, cowardy custard, craven, dog, fraidy cat, funker, gutless wonder, invertebrate, jessie, lizard, milquetoast, nancy, nidget, niding, nithing, piece of crap, piece of shit, pisspants, poltroon, pullet, punk, pussy, pussyhole, quiche-eater, quakebreech, quakebuttock, recreant, scaredy cat, scaredy pants, shithouse, sissy, slag, sluggard, snool, sook, weak sister, wheyface, yellow belly, yellow back

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A wicked person; also, one who has acted immorally or unlawfully.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: antimodel, bad guy, baddie, bastard, beggar, blackguard, bounder, cad, cockatrice, coistril, evildoer, fustilarian, harlot, heavy, knave, lidderon, makeshift, miscreant, ne'er-do-well, niding, nithing, rapscallion, rascal, rogue, scab, scamp, scapegrace, scoundrel, scum, scumbag, thug, undesirable, varlet, villain

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English nithing, nithinc, nything, nythyng, nythynge, niþinge, nyþing, nyþyng, Early Middle English niðing, niþinc, niþincke (“coward, wretch; good-for-nothing; term of address for a boy or lad; stingy or miserly person; niggardly, miserly, stingy”), from Late Old English nithing, Old English niðing, nīþing (“coward; wretch; outlaw, villain”), from a North Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *nīþą (“envy; hate; malice”) (from Proto-Indo-European *neyH- (“to be angry”)) + *-ingō, *-ungō (suffix forming gerund nouns from verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish nidding, Late Latin nidingus, nithingus, Middle High German nīdinc, nīdunc (modern German Neiding (“(archaic) one who is envious”)), Old Norse níðingr (Icelandic níðingur (“scoundrel, rascal”), Norwegian niding), Old Swedish nīþinger (modern Swedish niding).