nickern.¹

Brit.

/ˈnɪkə/, U.S.

/ˈnɪkər/

Forms: Old English niccr- (inflected form), Old English nicr- (inflected form), Old English (1800s archaic) nicer, Old English (1800s– archaic) nicor, Middle English nekir, Middle English niker, Middle English nikyr, Middle English nycker, Middle English nykare, Middle English nyker, Middle English nykyr, 1500s nicre, 1800s– nicker; Scottish pre-1700 neker. See also eker n.²

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Middle Dutch necker , nicker (Dutch nikker demon (now obsolete in this sense and employed as a term of racial abuse)), Middle Low German necker , Old High German nichus , nihhus , nikhus (masculine) crocodile, water sprite (Middle High German nickes , nikhus (masculine) water sprite, crocodile, German Nix water sprite, merman ( > nix n.²)), nicchessa (feminine) nymph (Middle High German nikese , nikse (in surnames), -nixe (in compound wazzernixe siren), German Nixe ( > nixie n.¹)), Old Icelandic nykr (Icelandic nykur), Swedish näck, Norwegian (Bokmål) nøkk, Norwegian (Nynorsk) nykk, Danish nøkke), perhaps ultimately < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit nij-, ancient Greek νίζειν, Early Irish nigid (Irish nigh) all in sense ‘to wash’.In sense 2 perhaps directly < Middle Dutch.

Now archaic and historical.

1. A supernatural being supposed to live in the sea or other waters; a water-demon, a kelpie. Formerly also (in Middle English): †a siren, a mermaid (obsolete).In Scottish tradition the being was supposed to appear in the form of a horse.In quot. OE⁴ translating Latin hippopotami.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > aquatic monster or serpent

nickerOE

cetec1220

dragona1340

serra1449

hurlpool1553

afanc1573

orcc1590

sea monster1600

Hydrus1667

sea-dragon1749

kraken1755

sea-snake1755

Midgard1770

the (great) sea-serpent1774

sea-worm1799

taniwha1840

makara1873

Mamlambo1919

lau1923

Ogopogo1926

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > hybrid creature or monster > [noun] > of classical mythology > siren

mermineOE

nicker1340

sirenc1366

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > hybrid creature or monster > [noun] > human hybrid > mermaid or merman > mermaid

nicker1340

mermaidc1350

mermaiden1397

sea-maid1600

sea-woman1608

merwoman1811

merrymaid1865

Mammy Water1966

OE Beowulf 422 Þær ic..on yðum slog niceras nihtes.

OE Blickling Homilies 211 Þonne gewitan þa saula niðer..& him onfengon ða nicras.

OE Blickling Homilies 209 Under þæm stane wæs niccra eardung & wearga.

OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §15. 234 Sona þæs ðe hie inne [i.e. in the river] wæron swa wæron þa nicoras gearwe.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10851 Þat water is unimete brade nikeres þer baðieð inne.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 61 (MED) Hy byeþ a ssewynge of þe ze þet me klepeþ nykeren, þet habbeþ bodyes of wyfman and tayl of uisssse.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 1439 Þer fand þei Nikers þat mery song þat drecched þam ferly long.

?a1475 Promptorium Parvulorum (Winch.) (1908) 307 Nykyr [a1500 King's Cambr. Nikyr]: In plurali Sirene.

a1500 Treat. Ghostly Battle in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 435 (MED) The nykare [v.r. nekir], or meremaydene, that cast opone the water syde dyuerse thyngis whyche semene fayre..to mane, but anone as he taketh hit..she taketh hyme ande deuoureth hym.

1553 J. Withals Shorte Dict. f. 10/1 A nicre, remora, echeneis.

1603 Proph. Waldhaue in Whole Prophesie Scotl. sig. B7^v There is a Neker in the North, thy nest shal destroy.

1834 Fraser's Mag. 10 54 The Anglo-Saxons did not cease to believe in the existence..of the elves and the nicers.

1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia I. xii. 257 ‘What is a nicor, Agilmund?’ ‘A sea-devil who eats sailors.’

1881 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 194 In folk-lore, the figure of Odin-Nikor..has been diffused into a host of water-sprites, male and female, whose names—Necks and Nixes, that is Nickses; or Neckers, Nickers, Nöckens, Nickels, and Nöckels—all point to the same root from which the name of Nikar, as well as that of the mystic Water-Horse, Nuggle, is derived.

1892 S. A. Brooke Hist. Early Eng. Lit. I. iii. 59 The nickers lie there on the sloping rocks of the ness, monsters that at mid-day go out into the open sea.

1922 E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros xiii. 189 Lions, dragons, nickers of the sea, spread-eagles, elephants.

1961 T. Gunn My Sad Captains 27 Creeping from sense to craftier sense..These men had fashioned a defence Against the nicker's snap, and hostile spear.

1965 ELH 32 427 Beowulf's byrnie wards off the attack of numbers of sædeor..which, like the nicker killed by the hero's arrow, recall the meredeor..of the boyish swimming-match.

†2. A demon, a devil. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [noun]

evil angel, spiritc950

ghosteOE

uncleanOE

demonOE

devilOE

devilshineOE

groa1225

debleriea1325

devilnessa1400

devilryc1400

sprat?a1475

nicker1481

fiend of hell1509

imp1526

virtue1584

elf1587

succubus1601

blue devilc1616

black man1656

woolsaw1757

buggane1775

bhut1785

demonic1785

pishachi1807

devil-devil1831

skookum1838

taipo1848

lightning bird1870

demonry1883

pisaca1885

mafufunyanas1963

mare1981

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 94 Alas me growleth of thyse fowle nyckers, Come they out of helle?

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

nickern.²

Brit.

/ˈnɪkə/, U.S.

/ˈnɪkər/

Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Probably also partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: nick v.², -er suffix¹; nicker n.³

Etymology: < nick v.² + -er suffix¹. In sense 3 probably partly < nicker n.³In quot. 1669 at sense 1, with allusion to the proverbial phrase ‘the biter bit’ (see biter n. 2).

†1. A person who cheats at gaming. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > player of games of chance > cheat or swindler

butter1474

rooka1568

steal-counter1588

nicker1669

sharper1681

tat-monger1688

gambler1735

blackleg1767

gouger1790

sharp1797

tatsman1825

leggism1843

spieler1859

sniggler1887

1669 (title) The nicker nicked; or, the cheats of gaming discovered.

1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester xxx. 170 Four (called by the Tribe of Nickers little Dick-Fisher.

†2. A person who fits a thing neatly. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1676 A. Marvell Mr. Smirke sig. K3^v Yet I am not neither one of the most credulous nickers or applyers of natural events to humain transactions.

3. A member of a band of hooligans active in London in the early 18th cent., who made a practice of breaking windows by throwing copper coins at them. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > ruffianly conduct > ruffian > [noun] > breaking windows

nicker1716

the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > [noun] > rough or boisterous > person > specific

nicker1716

1716 J. Gay Trivia iii. 74 His scatter'd Pence the flying Nicker flings, And with the Copper Show'r the Casement rings.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 361 At a later period arose the Nicker, the Hawcubite, and the yet more dreaded name of Mohawk.

1886 M. E. Braddon Mohawks ix The Flying Post described how the Nickers had broken all Mr. Topsparkle's windows with halfpence.

1895 E. C. Brewer Dict. Phrase & Fable (rev. ed.) 589/1 The succession of these London pests after the Restoration was in the following order: The Muns, the Tityré Tūs, the Hectors, the Scourers, the Nickers, then the Hawkubites..and then the Mohocks.

4. A person who or thing which nicks or cuts something.

†a. A person who nicks horses' tails. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [noun] > docking or nicking > docker

docker1810

nicker1810

1810 Sporting Mag. 35 263 The defendant's witnesses, whom Mr. Serjeant Pell..described as croppers, dockers, nickers and trimmers.

1859 Harper's Mag. May 797/2 A close inspection showed that the cut which the nicker had given his tail was not yet quite healed.

b. Woodworking. That part of a centre bit which cuts the circular outline of the hole to be made by the tool.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > auger or gimlet > for specific shapes > part of

nicker1846

1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 541 A thin shearing point or nicker, that cuts through the fibres like the point of a knife.

1865 Routledge's Mag. for Boys June 353 The nicker leads or prepares the way for the cutter throughout the entire depth of the hole.

1947 H. E. King School Certificate Woodwork vi. 63 Boring Bits... The router and nicker are sharpened on the inside only.

1988 R. McMullan Macmillan Dict. Building 34/2 [The centre bit] has a central point and two side cutters or nickers.

†c. Telegraphy. A recording apparatus which makes nicks in a strip of paper. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun] > types of > recording telegraphs

telegraph register1845

Morse1867

recorder1867

nicker1871

ink-writer1876

inker1882

ticker1883

news ticker1887

tape-machine1891

synchronograph1897

tape-ticker1904

undulator1910

reperforator1913

1871 Echo 2 Feb. Professor Morse's printing nickers and embossers.

5. colloquial (chiefly British). A person who steals something; a thief. Frequently with preceding noun.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > [noun]

thief688

bribera1387

stealer1508

taker?a1513

goodfellow1566

snatcher1575

lift1591

liftera1592

larcin1596

Tartar1602

lime-twig1606

outparter1607

Tartarian1608

flick1610

puggard1611

gilt1620

nim1630

highwayman1652

cloyer1659

out-trader1660

Robin Goodfellow1680

birdlime1705

gyp1728

filch1775

kiddy1780

snaveller1781

larcenist1803

pincher1814

geach1821

wharf-rat1823

toucher1837

larcener1839

snammer1839

drummer1856

gun1857

forker1867

gunsmith1869

nabber1880

thiever1899

tea-leaf1903

gun moll1908

nicker1909

knocker-off1926

possum1945

scuffler1961

rip-off1969

1909 Chatterbox 202/2 Common shore-thieves, or ‘nickers’, who are always present in our big seaport towns.

1988 Sunday Times (Nexis) 18 Sept. Buster Edwards..goes from nappy nicker at Mothercare to a trained member of a gang.

1989 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 3 Aug. 6 Can we really approve of that nicker of picnic baskets, Yogi Bear?

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† nickern.³

Forms: 1600s 1800s nicker, 1600s–1700s nickar. See also knicker n.

Origin: Probably a borrowing from Dutch. Etymon: Dutch knikker.

Etymology: Probably < Dutch knikker marble (c1600; compare West Frisian knikkert , German regional (Low German) Knicker (late 17th cent. or earlier)) < knikken to crack, make a cracking sound (see knick v.) + -er -er suffix¹, with allusion to the sound made by the pieces in play. Compare nicker n.² 3. Compare also knicker n., nicker n.⁴

Obsolete.

1. A marble made of baked clay. Also in plural: a game played with such marbles.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > marbles > [noun] > marble > types of

nicker1675

alley1720

blood alley1821

commoney1837

Rouge Royal1837

peewee1848

stoney1856

knicker1860

bonce1862

plunker1863

dobber1875

agate1886

mig1886

glassy1887

miggle1890

shooter1892

aggie1896

knuckler1896

milkie1908

ghoen1913

miggie1916

immy1928

glarney1953

1675 T. Duffett Mock-tempest iv. i. 34 Now I can't teach my Wife to play Nickers.

1696 Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 299 That kind [of Bean] which in Jamaica is called Ash-coloured-Nickar, from its being perfectly round and very like a Nickar, such as Boys use to play withal.

1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (at cited word) Marbles, Round fine clay Nickers for Children to play withal.

1700 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 22 703 The Boys play with these Fruit instead of Marvels or Nickars, from whence I suppose the name.

1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II. 576/1 Nicker,..a little ball of clay or earth baked hard and oiled over for boys to play at nickers.

1894 J. Inglis Oor Ain Folk xii. 94 Every boy prided himself on having a favourite nicker.

2. = knicker n. 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > counter or button for throwing

dump1770

nicker1888

knicker1899

1888 Advance (Chicago) 27 Dec. What's a nicker? ‘A flat thick piece of lead..which you throw down at the buttons.’

1889 A. T. Pask Eyes of Thames 119 The leaden ‘nicker’ is produced from the trousers pocket.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

nickern.⁴

Brit.

/ˈnɪkə/, U.S.

/ˈnɪkər/

Forms: 1600s– nickar, 1700s– nicker, 1800s necker, 1900s– nichol (Caribbean), 1900s– nickal (Caribbean), 1900s– nickel (Caribbean), 1900s– nickle (Caribbean), 1900s– nicor.

Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: nicker n.³

Etymology: Originally a specific use of nicker n.³ (compare quot. 1696 at sense 1).Forms in -l , -le represent a colloquial Caribbean pronunciation of the word (see e.g. quot. 1961 at sense 1).

1. The hard round seed of any of several trees or shrubs; esp. that of certain species of Caesalpinia (see sense 2), used as a bead, in folk medicines, and (esp. in the Caribbean) for playing marbles. See also nicker-nut n. at Compounds.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > tropical > bonduc > seed of

bean of Molucca1611

Molucca bean1675

Molucca nut1696

nicker1696

Virgin Mary's nut1703

1696 H. Sloane in Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 299 The Third kind of Bean..was that kind which in Jamaica is called Ash-coloured-Nickar, from its being perfectly round and very like a Nickar, such as Boys use to play withal.

1961 F. G. Cassidy Jamaica Talk xii. 278 Instead of marbles various native seeds are used such as the nickal... Grey nickals are common, yellow ones are not.

2. Any of several trees or shrubs bearing hard round seeds; spec. (chiefly Caribbean) either of two tropical climbing shrubs of the genus Caesalpinia (family Caesalpiniaceae ( Leguminosae)) with flat spiny pods, one (in full grey nicker) with grey seeds, and the other (in full yellow nicker) with yellowish seeds; also called bonduc. Cf. earlier nicker-tree n. at Compounds.horse-nicker: see horse n. Compounds 2c.The Latin names of the grey and yellow nicker are much confused: cf. quot. 1938.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > tropical > bonduc

bonduc1696

nicker-tree1696

horse-nicker1750

nicker1750

1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados 195 The Horse-Nicker is a small groveling tree, growing chiefly in a loose, marly, or sandy soil.

1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica ii. ii. 228 The Grey Nickar... The seeds are of a grey colour, and commonly used instead of marbles by all the boys.

1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica ii. ii. 228 The yellow Nickar. This plant resembles the foregoing [sc. the Grey Nickar].., but it is not prickly.

1792 M. Riddell Voy. Madeira 90 The guilandia moringa or yellow nickar..bears a..berry like polished marble.

1938 Jrnl. Bot., Brit. & Foreign 76 180 Caesalpinia Bonduc (L.) Roxb. ..This is the Grey Nickar, a species with..leaden-grey seeds, commonly known as C. bonducella (L.) Fleming or more recently as C. Crista L...Caesalpinia major (Medic.) Dandy & Exell, comb. nov... This is the Yellow Nickar, a species with..yellow or yellowish grey seeds, usually known as C. Bonduc Roxb.

1965 E. G. B. Gooding et al. Flora Barbados 176 Caesalpinia bonduc... Grey nicker, Horse-nicker... Shrub, often scrambling by means of prickles.

1982 C. R. Bell & B. J. Taylor Florida Wild Flowers 156/2 Yellow Nicker. Caesalpinia bonduc Roxburgh... (The very similar Gray Nicker, C. crista, may not be a biologically separate species.)

Compounds

nicker bean n. (a) = sense 1; (b) = sense 2 (cf. Molucca bean n.).

ΚΠ

1857 I. F. Holton New Granada iv. 47 I have seen it since.., growing in company with the low, straggling, abominably thorny bush that bears the burning beans or nicker-beans, Guilandina Bonduc.

1891 Bot. Gaz. 16 136 Another common plant of the lowlands [of Jamaica] and one which the collector is likely to remember with regret is the necker-bean. This is a more or less climbing shrub..bearing clusters of spiny pods which contain about two drab seeds the size of marbles.

1950 Ecol. Monogr. 20 328/1 The nicker bean, Guilandina crista, may also root on the dry land and then invade to the tops of the mangrove itself.

nicker-nut n. (a) = sense 1; (b) = sense 2.

ΚΠ

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Molucca,..the ash-coloured nickar-nut.

1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 556/1 The seeds..are very hard, and beautifully polished, and are called Nicker nuts or Bonduc nuts.

1946 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 33 418/2 On the beach are small clumps of the nicker-nut (Caesalpinia Bonducella).

1946 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 33 447/1 This prickly plant with yellow flowers is the source of the gray nickar nuts of the tropics which are sometimes cast ashore on the coast of Ireland and Scotland.

1991 Ornament Autumn 68/2 In Costa Rica, gray nickernuts are often strung with seeds of the guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), a huge tree of the rain forest.

nicker-tree n. any of several trees or shrubs bearing hard, round, often glossy seeds or fruits (cf. sense 2); esp. the bonduc, Caesalpinia bonduc, or (U.S.) the Kentucky coffee-tree, Gymnocladus dioica.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > tropical > bonduc

bonduc1696

nicker-tree1696

horse-nicker1750

nicker1750

1696 H. Sloane Catal. Plantarum in Jamaica 145 The Ash-colour'd Nickar Tree.

1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. 40 Nicker Tree. It grows among shrubs in the Savannas everywhere.

1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados 118 The Black Nicker-Tree. This grows to be a large tree covered with a bark of a greyish white.

1763 J. Clayton Let. 16 Mar. in William & Mary Q. (1926) 6 322 I should, in particular, be very glad to know if you saw anything of the Canada Bonduc, or Nickar-tree.

1847 Pharm. Jrnl. & Trans. 7 225 On the medicinal and economic properties of the Sapindus Saponaria. Soap Berry, or Black Nickar Tree.

1890 Notes & Queries 4 286 The name Nickar Tree is locally given in the United States to the Kentucky coffee tree.

1960 R. A. Vines Trees, Shrubs, & Woody Vines Southwest 531 Kentucky-mahogany, American Coffee-tree, Nicor-tree, and Stump-tree.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

nickern.⁵

Brit.

/ˈnɪkə/, U.S.

/ˈnɪkər/, Scottish English

/ˈnɪkər/

Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nicker v.

Etymology: < nicker v. Compare nicher n., neigher n.²

Originally Scottish.

A neigh, a neighing sound. Also: a laugh, a snigger.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > sound made by horse > [noun] > neigh or whinny

wehee1362

neigha1522

nichera1791

nickera1791

whicker1882

whickering1899

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > types of laughter > [noun] > sniggering > instance of

snirt1781

nichera1791

nickera1791

snigger1823

snitter1825

snicker1836

sniggle1852

squirk1882

squiggle1898

a1791 Lochmaben Harper xiii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1890) IV. vii. 19/2 His mare's away to Lochmaben, Wi' mony a nicker and mony a sneer.

1834 in C. Sharp Bishoprick Garland 42 Settin up a greater nicker and a whinney.

1883 R. Cleland Inchbracken xxvi. 210 She just leugh..an' syne she gae the ither nicker.

1887 Overland Monthly May 519/1 There was a sound of munching jaws and swishing tails, nickers and scuffles, all night among the wagons.

1916 Kelso Chron. 24 Mar. 3 The crack in the paper was gude, but the stour it has raised is geein' a' and sundra a graund nicker.

1932 W. James Big-enough i. 5 Once in a while when aching pains was at their worst he'd let out a weak nicker that could never be heard.

1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 196/2 Nicker, a light kind of laugh, a snigger.

1976 D. M. Goodall Horses & their World ii. 26 Horses do talk to each other and to people by..the friendly nicker..of greeting.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

nickern.⁶

Brit.

/ˈnɪkə/, U.S.

/ˈnɪkər/

Inflections: Plural unchanged, nickers.

Origin: Of unknown origin.

Etymology: Origin unknown.Perhaps originally Horse Racing slang.

British slang.

One pound sterling; †a sovereign (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun] > specific sums of money > a pound

li.c1450

quid1661

strike1680

note1775

scrieve1821

nicker1871

saucepan lid1896

bar1911

berry1918

smacker1920

thick 'un1968

sob1970

1871 H. J. Byron Cyril's Success (new ed.) III. 45 I shall only be too delighted... That's a nicker for Treherne.

1910 Sessions Papers 1 June 128 I suppose this has cost you a couple of ‘nickers’.

1960 D. Lessing In Pursuit of Eng. ii. 66 It's a little matter. A hundred nicker. And it'd double itself in a year.

2000 J. Caughie Television Drama iv. 116 Don't go far when you're used to a hundred nicker in yer pocket.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

nickern.⁷

Brit.

/ˈnɪkə/, U.S.

/ˈnɪkər/

Origin: Apparently formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: nicker-pecker n.

Etymology: Apparently shortened < nicker-pecker n. Compare slightly earlier nickle n.

English regional (north midlands).

A woodpecker; (perhaps) spec. the green woodpecker, Picus viridis.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > genus Picus (woodpecker)

woodhackc1440

woodwall1490

woodpecker1530

woodhacker1548

woodpeck1552

woodspite1555

woodspeckc1560

modwall1572

eat-bill1598

speck1601

tree-jobber1601

hecco1604

eat-bee1608

knag1639

French pie1783

pie1783

nicker-pecker1787

rind-tabberer1848

peckerwood1859

nickle1885

nicker1886

the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > genus Picus (woodpecker) > picus viridis (green woodpecker)

rain-fowl1440

woodwall1490

speight1513

hickwall?1533

rainbird1544

woodspite1555

green-peak1598

yaffingale1609

pick-a-tree1615

witwall1668

storm cock1769

nicker-pecker1787

yaffle1792

awl-bird1802

popinjay1802

yaffler1802

dirt-bird1847

yuckle1847

stock eagle1884

nicker1886

1886 R. E. G. Cole Gloss. Words S.-W. Lincs. 98 Nicker,..a Woodpecker; as ‘Those nickers are calling out; they reckon it's a sign of wet.’

1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 204/2 Nicker, a green woodpecker. ‘Theer's a nicker-ooāle in yon owd ak be the fence.’

This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

nickerv.

Brit.

/ˈnɪkə/, U.S.

/ˈnɪkər/, Scottish English

/ˈnɪkər/, Irish English

/ˈnɪkər/

Forms: 1600s– nicker; English regional 1800s– nigger, 1800s– nucker; Scottish pre-1700 nikkir, pre-1700 1700s– nicker, 1800s niccar, 1800s– nikker (Shetland), 1900s– knicker, 1900s– niger, 1900s– nikr (Shetland).

Origin: Apparently formed within English, by derivation. Etymon: -er suffix⁵.

Etymology: Apparently < an imitative base (compare neigh v.) + -er suffix⁵. Compare earlier neicher v. and also nicher v. With the semantic range, compare also e.g. snicker v., whicker v.

Originally Scottish.

a. intransitive. Of a horse, donkey, etc.: to make a soft noise, as when recognizing a foal or being offered a titbit.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > sound made by horse > [verb (intransitive)] > neigh

neighOE

neicherc1550

wehee1602

nickerc1617

nichera1700

whicker1753

snicker1824

c1617 King James VI & I Poems (1958) II. 91 As cursouris nikkiris [v.r. nickers] rydand in the nicht.

1691 Bragadocio ii. i. 18 Not long, since the Horse in the Poultry-Market nicker'd for Provinder.

1773 R. Fergusson Poems 119 The cuissers prance and nicker, An' our the ley-rig scud.

1820 W. Scott Monastery III. viii. 214 Mounted on nags that nicker at the clash of a sword.

1862 Harper's Mag. July 156/2 He whistled, sang lively snatches of song, joked with the horse, and when the horse nickered laughed a young horse-laugh to keep him company.

1879 R. L. Stevenson Trav. with Donkey (1886) 21 This other donkey..and Modestine met, nickering for joy.

1926 Amer. Mercury Apr. 463/2 They looked up and nickered when we came into the barn.

1959 J. Thompson Getaway xi. 62 In one of the rear stalls, a sway-backed horse nickered contentedly.

1992 BBC Wildlife (BNC) Jan. 42 A mare can nicker when her foal has strayed towards a danger that she would not approach herself.

b. transitive. To utter in a fretful or peevish manner.

ΚΠ

1929 S. Lewis Dodsworth xiv. 145 ‘I just can't make love except by a north light!’ he nickered to Fran.

1986 New Yorker 25 Aug. 22/3 Ev was twitching and nickering, ‘Come on, Nor, come on. We'll have to sit way at the back. Come on!’

2. intransitive. English regional (northern), Scottish, and Irish English. To laugh loudly or shrilly; (now more usually) to laugh in a half-suppressed or secretive manner, to snicker. Also occasionally transitive: to utter (a laugh, etc.) in this manner.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > types of laughter > laugh in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > snigger

neicherc1550

whickera1656

snicker1694

nichera1700

snigger1706

snirt1724

snirtle?a1786

sniggle1815

snitter1825

nicker1827

1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 22 He nicker't sic a lang gaffaw.

1863 J. P. Robson Songs Bards of Tyne 254 The keel-bullies nick'rd, but on Mally toddled.

1887 ‘S. Tytler’ Logie Town I. xix. 208 Adam Lauder wondered what the deil that fine gentleman, young Burn Foot, was nickering at.

1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 196/2 Nicker,..of persons: to snigger, laugh in a suppressed way.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

n.¹OE

n.²1669

n.³1675

n.⁴1696

n.⁵a1791

n.⁶1871

n.⁷1886

v.c1617

单词	nicker
释义	nickern.¹ Brit. /ˈnɪkə/, U.S. /ˈnɪkər/ Forms: Old English niccr- (inflected form), Old English nicr- (inflected form), Old English (1800s archaic) nicer, Old English (1800s– archaic) nicor, Middle English nekir, Middle English niker, Middle English nikyr, Middle English nycker, Middle English nykare, Middle English nyker, Middle English nykyr, 1500s nicre, 1800s– nicker; Scottish pre-1700 neker. See also eker n.² Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Middle Dutch necker , nicker (Dutch nikker demon (now obsolete in this sense and employed as a term of racial abuse)), Middle Low German necker , Old High German nichus , nihhus , nikhus (masculine) crocodile, water sprite (Middle High German nickes , nikhus (masculine) water sprite, crocodile, German Nix water sprite, merman ( > nix n.²)), nicchessa (feminine) nymph (Middle High German nikese , nikse (in surnames), -nixe (in compound wazzernixe siren), German Nixe ( > nixie n.¹)), Old Icelandic nykr (Icelandic nykur), Swedish näck, Norwegian (Bokmål) nøkk, Norwegian (Nynorsk) nykk, Danish nøkke), perhaps ultimately < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit nij-, ancient Greek νίζειν, Early Irish nigid (Irish nigh) all in sense ‘to wash’.In sense 2 perhaps directly < Middle Dutch. Now archaic and historical. 1. A supernatural being supposed to live in the sea or other waters; a water-demon, a kelpie. Formerly also (in Middle English): †a siren, a mermaid (obsolete).In Scottish tradition the being was supposed to appear in the form of a horse.In quot. OE⁴ translating Latin hippopotami. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [noun] > aquatic monster or serpent nickerOE cetec1220 dragona1340 serra1449 hurlpool1553 afanc1573 orcc1590 sea monster1600 Hydrus1667 sea-dragon1749 kraken1755 sea-snake1755 Midgard1770 the (great) sea-serpent1774 sea-worm1799 taniwha1840 makara1873 Mamlambo1919 lau1923 Ogopogo1926 the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > hybrid creature or monster > [noun] > of classical mythology > siren mermineOE nicker1340 sirenc1366 the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > hybrid creature or monster > [noun] > human hybrid > mermaid or merman > mermaid nicker1340 mermaidc1350 mermaiden1397 sea-maid1600 sea-woman1608 merwoman1811 merrymaid1865 Mammy Water1966 OE Beowulf 422 Þær ic..on yðum slog niceras nihtes. OE Blickling Homilies 211 Þonne gewitan þa saula niðer..& him onfengon ða nicras. OE Blickling Homilies 209 Under þæm stane wæs niccra eardung & wearga. OE tr. Alexander's Let. to Aristotle (1995) §15. 234 Sona þæs ðe hie inne [i.e. in the river] wæron swa wæron þa nicoras gearwe. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10851 Þat water is unimete brade nikeres þer baðieð inne. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 61 (MED) Hy byeþ a ssewynge of þe ze þet me klepeþ nykeren, þet habbeþ bodyes of wyfman and tayl of uisssse. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 1439 Þer fand þei Nikers þat mery song þat drecched þam ferly long. ?a1475 Promptorium Parvulorum (Winch.) (1908) 307 Nykyr [a1500 King's Cambr. Nikyr]: In plurali Sirene. a1500 Treat. Ghostly Battle in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 435 (MED) The nykare [v.r. nekir], or meremaydene, that cast opone the water syde dyuerse thyngis whyche semene fayre..to mane, but anone as he taketh hit..she taketh hyme ande deuoureth hym. 1553 J. Withals Shorte Dict. f. 10/1 A nicre, remora, echeneis. 1603 Proph. Waldhaue in Whole Prophesie Scotl. sig. B7^v There is a Neker in the North, thy nest shal destroy. 1834 Fraser's Mag. 10 54 The Anglo-Saxons did not cease to believe in the existence..of the elves and the nicers. 1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia I. xii. 257 ‘What is a nicor, Agilmund?’ ‘A sea-devil who eats sailors.’ 1881 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 194 In folk-lore, the figure of Odin-Nikor..has been diffused into a host of water-sprites, male and female, whose names—Necks and Nixes, that is Nickses; or Neckers, Nickers, Nöckens, Nickels, and Nöckels—all point to the same root from which the name of Nikar, as well as that of the mystic Water-Horse, Nuggle, is derived. 1892 S. A. Brooke Hist. Early Eng. Lit. I. iii. 59 The nickers lie there on the sloping rocks of the ness, monsters that at mid-day go out into the open sea. 1922 E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros xiii. 189 Lions, dragons, nickers of the sea, spread-eagles, elephants. 1961 T. Gunn My Sad Captains 27 Creeping from sense to craftier sense..These men had fashioned a defence Against the nicker's snap, and hostile spear. 1965 ELH 32 427 Beowulf's byrnie wards off the attack of numbers of sædeor..which, like the nicker killed by the hero's arrow, recall the meredeor..of the boyish swimming-match. †2. A demon, a devil. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > evil spirit or demon > [noun] evil angel, spiritc950 ghosteOE uncleanOE demonOE devilOE devilshineOE groa1225 debleriea1325 devilnessa1400 devilryc1400 sprat?a1475 nicker1481 fiend of hell1509 imp1526 virtue1584 elf1587 succubus1601 blue devilc1616 black man1656 woolsaw1757 buggane1775 bhut1785 demonic1785 pishachi1807 devil-devil1831 skookum1838 taipo1848 lightning bird1870 demonry1883 pisaca1885 mafufunyanas1963 mare1981 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 94 Alas me growleth of thyse fowle nyckers, Come they out of helle? This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022). nickern.² Brit. /ˈnɪkə/, U.S. /ˈnɪkər/ Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Probably also partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: nick v.², -er suffix¹; nicker n.³ Etymology: < nick v.² + -er suffix¹. In sense 3 probably partly < nicker n.³In quot. 1669 at sense 1, with allusion to the proverbial phrase ‘the biter bit’ (see biter n. 2). †1. A person who cheats at gaming. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > player of games of chance > cheat or swindler butter1474 rooka1568 steal-counter1588 nicker1669 sharper1681 tat-monger1688 gambler1735 blackleg1767 gouger1790 sharp1797 tatsman1825 leggism1843 spieler1859 sniggler1887 1669 (title) The nicker nicked; or, the cheats of gaming discovered. 1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester xxx. 170 Four (called by the Tribe of Nickers little Dick-Fisher. †2. A person who fits a thing neatly. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1676 A. Marvell Mr. Smirke sig. K3^v Yet I am not neither one of the most credulous nickers or applyers of natural events to humain transactions. 3. A member of a band of hooligans active in London in the early 18th cent., who made a practice of breaking windows by throwing copper coins at them. Now historical. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > ruffianly conduct > ruffian > [noun] > breaking windows nicker1716 the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > violent behaviour > [noun] > rough or boisterous > person > specific nicker1716 1716 J. Gay Trivia iii. 74 His scatter'd Pence the flying Nicker flings, And with the Copper Show'r the Casement rings. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 361 At a later period arose the Nicker, the Hawcubite, and the yet more dreaded name of Mohawk. 1886 M. E. Braddon Mohawks ix The Flying Post described how the Nickers had broken all Mr. Topsparkle's windows with halfpence. 1895 E. C. Brewer Dict. Phrase & Fable (rev. ed.) 589/1 The succession of these London pests after the Restoration was in the following order: The Muns, the Tityré Tūs, the Hectors, the Scourers, the Nickers, then the Hawkubites..and then the Mohocks. 4. A person who or thing which nicks or cuts something. †a. A person who nicks horses' tails. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [noun] > docking or nicking > docker docker1810 nicker1810 1810 Sporting Mag. 35 263 The defendant's witnesses, whom Mr. Serjeant Pell..described as croppers, dockers, nickers and trimmers. 1859 Harper's Mag. May 797/2 A close inspection showed that the cut which the nicker had given his tail was not yet quite healed. b. Woodworking. That part of a centre bit which cuts the circular outline of the hole to be made by the tool. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > auger or gimlet > for specific shapes > part of nicker1846 1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 541 A thin shearing point or nicker, that cuts through the fibres like the point of a knife. 1865 Routledge's Mag. for Boys June 353 The nicker leads or prepares the way for the cutter throughout the entire depth of the hole. 1947 H. E. King School Certificate Woodwork vi. 63 Boring Bits... The router and nicker are sharpened on the inside only. 1988 R. McMullan Macmillan Dict. Building 34/2 [The centre bit] has a central point and two side cutters or nickers. †c. Telegraphy. A recording apparatus which makes nicks in a strip of paper. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun] > types of > recording telegraphs telegraph register1845 Morse1867 recorder1867 nicker1871 ink-writer1876 inker1882 ticker1883 news ticker1887 tape-machine1891 synchronograph1897 tape-ticker1904 undulator1910 reperforator1913 1871 Echo 2 Feb. Professor Morse's printing nickers and embossers. 5. colloquial (chiefly British). A person who steals something; a thief. Frequently with preceding noun. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > [noun] thief688 bribera1387 stealer1508 taker?a1513 goodfellow1566 snatcher1575 lift1591 liftera1592 larcin1596 Tartar1602 lime-twig1606 outparter1607 Tartarian1608 flick1610 puggard1611 gilt1620 nim1630 highwayman1652 cloyer1659 out-trader1660 Robin Goodfellow1680 birdlime1705 gyp1728 filch1775 kiddy1780 snaveller1781 larcenist1803 pincher1814 geach1821 wharf-rat1823 toucher1837 larcener1839 snammer1839 drummer1856 gun1857 forker1867 gunsmith1869 nabber1880 thiever1899 tea-leaf1903 gun moll1908 nicker1909 knocker-off1926 possum1945 scuffler1961 rip-off1969 1909 Chatterbox 202/2 Common shore-thieves, or ‘nickers’, who are always present in our big seaport towns. 1988 Sunday Times (Nexis) 18 Sept. Buster Edwards..goes from nappy nicker at Mothercare to a trained member of a gang. 1989 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 3 Aug. 6 Can we really approve of that nicker of picnic baskets, Yogi Bear? This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † nickern.³ Forms: 1600s 1800s nicker, 1600s–1700s nickar. See also knicker n. Origin: Probably a borrowing from Dutch. Etymon: Dutch knikker. Etymology: Probably < Dutch knikker marble (c1600; compare West Frisian knikkert , German regional (Low German) Knicker (late 17th cent. or earlier)) < knikken to crack, make a cracking sound (see knick v.) + -er -er suffix¹, with allusion to the sound made by the pieces in play. Compare nicker n.² 3. Compare also knicker n., nicker n.⁴ Obsolete. 1. A marble made of baked clay. Also in plural: a game played with such marbles. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > marbles > [noun] > marble > types of nicker1675 alley1720 blood alley1821 commoney1837 Rouge Royal1837 peewee1848 stoney1856 knicker1860 bonce1862 plunker1863 dobber1875 agate1886 mig1886 glassy1887 miggle1890 shooter1892 aggie1896 knuckler1896 milkie1908 ghoen1913 miggie1916 immy1928 glarney1953 1675 T. Duffett Mock-tempest iv. i. 34 Now I can't teach my Wife to play Nickers. 1696 Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 299 That kind [of Bean] which in Jamaica is called Ash-coloured-Nickar, from its being perfectly round and very like a Nickar, such as Boys use to play withal. 1699 A. Boyer Royal Dict. (at cited word) Marbles, Round fine clay Nickers for Children to play withal. 1700 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 22 703 The Boys play with these Fruit instead of Marvels or Nickars, from whence I suppose the name. 1847 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words II. 576/1 Nicker,..a little ball of clay or earth baked hard and oiled over for boys to play at nickers. 1894 J. Inglis Oor Ain Folk xii. 94 Every boy prided himself on having a favourite nicker. 2. = knicker n. 2. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > counter or button for throwing dump1770 nicker1888 knicker1899 1888 Advance (Chicago) 27 Dec. What's a nicker? ‘A flat thick piece of lead..which you throw down at the buttons.’ 1889 A. T. Pask Eyes of Thames 119 The leaden ‘nicker’ is produced from the trousers pocket. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online December 2021). nickern.⁴ Brit. /ˈnɪkə/, U.S. /ˈnɪkər/ Forms: 1600s– nickar, 1700s– nicker, 1800s necker, 1900s– nichol (Caribbean), 1900s– nickal (Caribbean), 1900s– nickel (Caribbean), 1900s– nickle (Caribbean), 1900s– nicor. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: nicker n.³ Etymology: Originally a specific use of nicker n.³ (compare quot. 1696 at sense 1).Forms in -l , -le represent a colloquial Caribbean pronunciation of the word (see e.g. quot. 1961 at sense 1). 1. The hard round seed of any of several trees or shrubs; esp. that of certain species of Caesalpinia (see sense 2), used as a bead, in folk medicines, and (esp. in the Caribbean) for playing marbles. See also nicker-nut n. at Compounds. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > tropical > bonduc > seed of bean of Molucca1611 Molucca bean1675 Molucca nut1696 nicker1696 Virgin Mary's nut1703 1696 H. Sloane in Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 299 The Third kind of Bean..was that kind which in Jamaica is called Ash-coloured-Nickar, from its being perfectly round and very like a Nickar, such as Boys use to play withal. 1961 F. G. Cassidy Jamaica Talk xii. 278 Instead of marbles various native seeds are used such as the nickal... Grey nickals are common, yellow ones are not. 2. Any of several trees or shrubs bearing hard round seeds; spec. (chiefly Caribbean) either of two tropical climbing shrubs of the genus Caesalpinia (family Caesalpiniaceae ( Leguminosae)) with flat spiny pods, one (in full grey nicker) with grey seeds, and the other (in full yellow nicker) with yellowish seeds; also called bonduc. Cf. earlier nicker-tree n. at Compounds.horse-nicker: see horse n. Compounds 2c.The Latin names of the grey and yellow nicker are much confused: cf. quot. 1938. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > tropical > bonduc bonduc1696 nicker-tree1696 horse-nicker1750 nicker1750 1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados 195 The Horse-Nicker is a small groveling tree, growing chiefly in a loose, marly, or sandy soil. 1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica ii. ii. 228 The Grey Nickar... The seeds are of a grey colour, and commonly used instead of marbles by all the boys. 1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica ii. ii. 228 The yellow Nickar. This plant resembles the foregoing [sc. the Grey Nickar].., but it is not prickly. 1792 M. Riddell Voy. Madeira 90 The guilandia moringa or yellow nickar..bears a..berry like polished marble. 1938 Jrnl. Bot., Brit. & Foreign 76 180 Caesalpinia Bonduc (L.) Roxb. ..This is the Grey Nickar, a species with..leaden-grey seeds, commonly known as C. bonducella (L.) Fleming or more recently as C. Crista L...Caesalpinia major (Medic.) Dandy & Exell, comb. nov... This is the Yellow Nickar, a species with..yellow or yellowish grey seeds, usually known as C. Bonduc Roxb. 1965 E. G. B. Gooding et al. Flora Barbados 176 Caesalpinia bonduc... Grey nicker, Horse-nicker... Shrub, often scrambling by means of prickles. 1982 C. R. Bell & B. J. Taylor Florida Wild Flowers 156/2 Yellow Nicker. Caesalpinia bonduc Roxburgh... (The very similar Gray Nicker, C. crista, may not be a biologically separate species.) Compounds nicker bean n. (a) = sense 1; (b) = sense 2 (cf. Molucca bean n.). ΚΠ 1857 I. F. Holton New Granada iv. 47 I have seen it since.., growing in company with the low, straggling, abominably thorny bush that bears the burning beans or nicker-beans, Guilandina Bonduc. 1891 Bot. Gaz. 16 136 Another common plant of the lowlands [of Jamaica] and one which the collector is likely to remember with regret is the necker-bean. This is a more or less climbing shrub..bearing clusters of spiny pods which contain about two drab seeds the size of marbles. 1950 Ecol. Monogr. 20 328/1 The nicker bean, Guilandina crista, may also root on the dry land and then invade to the tops of the mangrove itself. nicker-nut n. (a) = sense 1; (b) = sense 2. ΚΠ 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Molucca,..the ash-coloured nickar-nut. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 556/1 The seeds..are very hard, and beautifully polished, and are called Nicker nuts or Bonduc nuts. 1946 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 33 418/2 On the beach are small clumps of the nicker-nut (Caesalpinia Bonducella). 1946 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 33 447/1 This prickly plant with yellow flowers is the source of the gray nickar nuts of the tropics which are sometimes cast ashore on the coast of Ireland and Scotland. 1991 Ornament Autumn 68/2 In Costa Rica, gray nickernuts are often strung with seeds of the guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum), a huge tree of the rain forest. nicker-tree n. any of several trees or shrubs bearing hard, round, often glossy seeds or fruits (cf. sense 2); esp. the bonduc, Caesalpinia bonduc, or (U.S.) the Kentucky coffee-tree, Gymnocladus dioica. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > tropical > bonduc bonduc1696 nicker-tree1696 horse-nicker1750 nicker1750 1696 H. Sloane Catal. Plantarum in Jamaica 145 The Ash-colour'd Nickar Tree. 1725 H. Sloane Voy. Islands II. 40 Nicker Tree. It grows among shrubs in the Savannas everywhere. 1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados 118 The Black Nicker-Tree. This grows to be a large tree covered with a bark of a greyish white. 1763 J. Clayton Let. 16 Mar. in William & Mary Q. (1926) 6 322 I should, in particular, be very glad to know if you saw anything of the Canada Bonduc, or Nickar-tree. 1847 Pharm. Jrnl. & Trans. 7 225 On the medicinal and economic properties of the Sapindus Saponaria. Soap Berry, or Black Nickar Tree. 1890 Notes & Queries 4 286 The name Nickar Tree is locally given in the United States to the Kentucky coffee tree. 1960 R. A. Vines Trees, Shrubs, & Woody Vines Southwest 531 Kentucky-mahogany, American Coffee-tree, Nicor-tree, and Stump-tree. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nickern.⁵ Brit. /ˈnɪkə/, U.S. /ˈnɪkər/, Scottish English /ˈnɪkər/ Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: nicker v. Etymology: < nicker v. Compare nicher n., neigher n.² Originally Scottish. A neigh, a neighing sound. Also: a laugh, a snigger. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > sound made by horse > [noun] > neigh or whinny wehee1362 neigha1522 nichera1791 nickera1791 whicker1882 whickering1899 the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > types of laughter > [noun] > sniggering > instance of snirt1781 nichera1791 nickera1791 snigger1823 snitter1825 snicker1836 sniggle1852 squirk1882 squiggle1898 a1791 Lochmaben Harper xiii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1890) IV. vii. 19/2 His mare's away to Lochmaben, Wi' mony a nicker and mony a sneer. 1834 in C. Sharp Bishoprick Garland 42 Settin up a greater nicker and a whinney. 1883 R. Cleland Inchbracken xxvi. 210 She just leugh..an' syne she gae the ither nicker. 1887 Overland Monthly May 519/1 There was a sound of munching jaws and swishing tails, nickers and scuffles, all night among the wagons. 1916 Kelso Chron. 24 Mar. 3 The crack in the paper was gude, but the stour it has raised is geein' a' and sundra a graund nicker. 1932 W. James Big-enough i. 5 Once in a while when aching pains was at their worst he'd let out a weak nicker that could never be heard. 1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 196/2 Nicker, a light kind of laugh, a snigger. 1976 D. M. Goodall Horses & their World ii. 26 Horses do talk to each other and to people by..the friendly nicker..of greeting. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nickern.⁶ Brit. /ˈnɪkə/, U.S. /ˈnɪkər/ Inflections: Plural unchanged, nickers. Origin: Of unknown origin. Etymology: Origin unknown.Perhaps originally Horse Racing slang. British slang. One pound sterling; †a sovereign (obsolete). ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun] > specific sums of money > a pound li.c1450 quid1661 strike1680 note1775 scrieve1821 nicker1871 saucepan lid1896 bar1911 berry1918 smacker1920 thick 'un1968 sob1970 1871 H. J. Byron Cyril's Success (new ed.) III. 45 I shall only be too delighted... That's a nicker for Treherne. 1910 Sessions Papers 1 June 128 I suppose this has cost you a couple of ‘nickers’. 1960 D. Lessing In Pursuit of Eng. ii. 66 It's a little matter. A hundred nicker. And it'd double itself in a year. 2000 J. Caughie Television Drama iv. 116 Don't go far when you're used to a hundred nicker in yer pocket. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nickern.⁷ Brit. /ˈnɪkə/, U.S. /ˈnɪkər/ Origin: Apparently formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: nicker-pecker n. Etymology: Apparently shortened < nicker-pecker n. Compare slightly earlier nickle n. English regional (north midlands). A woodpecker; (perhaps) spec. the green woodpecker, Picus viridis. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > genus Picus (woodpecker) woodhackc1440 woodwall1490 woodpecker1530 woodhacker1548 woodpeck1552 woodspite1555 woodspeckc1560 modwall1572 eat-bill1598 speck1601 tree-jobber1601 hecco1604 eat-bee1608 knag1639 French pie1783 pie1783 nicker-pecker1787 rind-tabberer1848 peckerwood1859 nickle1885 nicker1886 the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Piciformes > [noun] > family Picidae > genus Picus (woodpecker) > picus viridis (green woodpecker) rain-fowl1440 woodwall1490 speight1513 hickwall?1533 rainbird1544 woodspite1555 green-peak1598 yaffingale1609 pick-a-tree1615 witwall1668 storm cock1769 nicker-pecker1787 yaffle1792 awl-bird1802 popinjay1802 yaffler1802 dirt-bird1847 yuckle1847 stock eagle1884 nicker1886 1886 R. E. G. Cole Gloss. Words S.-W. Lincs. 98 Nicker,..a Woodpecker; as ‘Those nickers are calling out; they reckon it's a sign of wet.’ 1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 204/2 Nicker, a green woodpecker. ‘Theer's a nicker-ooāle in yon owd ak be the fence.’ This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). nickerv. Brit. /ˈnɪkə/, U.S. /ˈnɪkər/, Scottish English /ˈnɪkər/, Irish English /ˈnɪkər/ Forms: 1600s– nicker; English regional 1800s– nigger, 1800s– nucker; Scottish pre-1700 nikkir, pre-1700 1700s– nicker, 1800s niccar, 1800s– nikker (Shetland), 1900s– knicker, 1900s– niger, 1900s– nikr (Shetland). Origin: Apparently formed within English, by derivation. Etymon: -er suffix⁵. Etymology: Apparently < an imitative base (compare neigh v.) + -er suffix⁵. Compare earlier neicher v. and also nicher v. With the semantic range, compare also e.g. snicker v., whicker v. Originally Scottish. 1. a. intransitive. Of a horse, donkey, etc.: to make a soft noise, as when recognizing a foal or being offered a titbit. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > sound made by horse > [verb (intransitive)] > neigh neighOE neicherc1550 wehee1602 nickerc1617 nichera1700 whicker1753 snicker1824 c1617 King James VI & I Poems (1958) II. 91 As cursouris nikkiris [v.r. nickers] rydand in the nicht. 1691 Bragadocio ii. i. 18 Not long, since the Horse in the Poultry-Market nicker'd for Provinder. 1773 R. Fergusson Poems 119 The cuissers prance and nicker, An' our the ley-rig scud. 1820 W. Scott Monastery III. viii. 214 Mounted on nags that nicker at the clash of a sword. 1862 Harper's Mag. July 156/2 He whistled, sang lively snatches of song, joked with the horse, and when the horse nickered laughed a young horse-laugh to keep him company. 1879 R. L. Stevenson Trav. with Donkey (1886) 21 This other donkey..and Modestine met, nickering for joy. 1926 Amer. Mercury Apr. 463/2 They looked up and nickered when we came into the barn. 1959 J. Thompson Getaway xi. 62 In one of the rear stalls, a sway-backed horse nickered contentedly. 1992 BBC Wildlife (BNC) Jan. 42 A mare can nicker when her foal has strayed towards a danger that she would not approach herself. b. transitive. To utter in a fretful or peevish manner. ΚΠ 1929 S. Lewis Dodsworth xiv. 145 ‘I just can't make love except by a north light!’ he nickered to Fran. 1986 New Yorker 25 Aug. 22/3 Ev was twitching and nickering, ‘Come on, Nor, come on. We'll have to sit way at the back. Come on!’ 2. intransitive. English regional (northern), Scottish, and Irish English. To laugh loudly or shrilly; (now more usually) to laugh in a half-suppressed or secretive manner, to snicker. Also occasionally transitive: to utter (a laugh, etc.) in this manner. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > types of laughter > laugh in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > snigger neicherc1550 whickera1656 snicker1694 nichera1700 snigger1706 snirt1724 snirtle?a1786 sniggle1815 snitter1825 nicker1827 1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 22 He nicker't sic a lang gaffaw. 1863 J. P. Robson Songs Bards of Tyne 254 The keel-bullies nick'rd, but on Mally toddled. 1887 ‘S. Tytler’ Logie Town I. xix. 208 Adam Lauder wondered what the deil that fine gentleman, young Burn Foot, was nickering at. 1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 196/2 Nicker,..of persons: to snigger, laugh in a suppressed way. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.¹OEn.²1669n.³1675n.⁴1696n.⁵a1791n.⁶1871n.⁷1886v.c1617
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