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Origin and history of nicker

nicker(v.)

"to neigh," 1774, Scottish and North of England dialect, of imitative origin (see neigh). Related: Nickered; nickering.

also from 1774

Entries linking to nicker

neigh(v.)

Middle English neighen, from Old English hnægan "to neigh, utter the cry of a horse," probably of imitative origin (compare Old Norse gneggja "to neigh," Middle High German negen, French hennir, Japanese inanaki). In Middle English also nyghe, neyen, nyen, nayʒen. Related: Neighed; neighing. As a noun, "the cry of a horse, a whinnying," from 1510s.

snicker(v.)

"laugh in a half-suppressed way," 1690s, possibly of imitative origin; it is similar to Dutch snikken "to gasp, sob;" also compare the horse's nicker. Related: Snickered; snickering.

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    cry
    mid-13c., "yell (something) out, utter" (transitive); c. 1300, "beg, implore; speak earnestly and loudly; advertise by calling out," from Old French crier, from Vulgar Latin *critare, from Latin quiritare "to wail, shriek" (source of Italian gridare, Old Spanish cridar, Spanish a
    item
    late 14c., originally an adverb, "moreover, in addition," from Latin item (adv.) "likewise, just so, moreover," probably from ita "thus," id "it" (see id) + adverbial ending -tem (compare idem "the same"). The Latin adverb was used to introduce a new fact or statement, and in Fre
    time
    Old English tima "limited space of time," from Proto-Germanic *timon- "time" (source also of Old Norse timi "time, proper time," Swedish timme "an hour"), from PIE *di-mon-, suffixed form of root *da- "to divide." The abstract sense of "time as an indefinite continuous duration"
    mite
    "tiny animal, minute arachnid," Old English mite "minute, parasitic insect or arachnid," from Proto-Germanic *miton (source also of Middle Dutch mite, Dutch mijt, Old High German miza, Danish mide) meaning originally perhaps "the cutter," in reference to its bite, from Proto-Germ
    utter
    Old English utera, uterra, "outer, exterior, external," from Proto-Germanic *utizon (source also of Old Norse utar, Old Frisian uttra, Middle Dutch utere, Dutch uiter-, Old High German uzar, German äußer "outer"), comparative adjective from ut (see out (adv.)). Meaning "complete,
    hinge
    late 14c., "movable joint of a gate or door," not found in Old English, cognate with Middle Dutch henghe "hook, handle," Middle Low German henge "hinge," from Proto-Germanic *hanhan (transitive), *hangen (intransitive), from PIE *konk- "to hang" (see hang (v.)). The notion is the
    confess
    late 14c., transitive and intransitive, "make avowal or admission of" (a fault, crime, sin, debt, etc.), from Old French confesser (transitive and intransitive), from Vulgar Latin *confessare, a frequentative form from Latin confess-, past participle stem of confiteri "to acknowl
    real
    early 14c., "actually existing, having physical existence (not imaginary);" mid-15c., "relating to things" (especially property), from Old French reel "real, actual," from Late Latin realis "actual," in Medieval Latin "belonging to the thing itself," from Latin res "property, goo
    memory
    late 13c., "recollection (of someone or something); remembrance, awareness or consciousness (of someone or something)," also "fame, renown, reputation;" from Anglo-French memorie (Old French memoire, 11c., "mind, memory, remembrance; memorial, record") and directly from Latin mem
    mercurial
    late 14c., "pertaining to or under the influence of the planet Mercury," from Latin Mercurialis, from Mercurius (see Mercury). Meaning "pertaining to the god Mercury, having the form or qualities attributed to Mercury" (in reference to his role as god of trade or as herald and gu

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