Nit Definition

nĭt
noun
The egg of a louse or similar insect.
Webster's New World
A young louse, etc.
Webster's New World
A unit of luminance equal to one candela per square meter, measured perpendicular to the rays of the source.
American Heritage
Webster's New World

(slang) A fool, a nitwit.

Wiktionary
abbreviation
National Invitational Tournament.
American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Nit

Noun

Singular:
nit
Plural:
nits

Origin of Nit

  • Middle English nite, from Old English hnitu, from Proto-Germanic *hnitō (cf. Dutch neet, German Nisse, Norwegian nit), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱ(o)nid- (cf. Scottish Gaelic sneadh, Lithuanian glìnda, Polish gnida, Albanian thëri, Ancient Greek κονίς (konís))

    From Wiktionary

  • From Latin nitor brightness from nitēre to shine

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Middle English from Old English hnitu

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Latin nitere (“to shine")

    From Wiktionary

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