Where does “nice-but-dim” come from?
nice-but-dim (English) comes from English nice, from Middle English nys, from Middle English nyce, from Old French nice, from Latin nescius, from Latin nesciō, from Latin sciō, from Proto-Indo-European sḱēy- — to cut, part, spearate, divide; to cut, part,...
nice-but-dim (English): Good-natured, while also being rather...
Definitions
- Good-natured, while also being rather...
Ancestry of “nice-but-dim”, step by step
nice-but-dim traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English nice
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | nice | Pleasant, satisfactory; Of a person: friendly,... |
| 2 | Middle English | nys | Alternative form of nyce |
| 3 | Middle English | nyce | foolish, simple, ignorant, naive; scared, weak,... |
| 4 | Old French | nice | simple, foolish |
| 5 | Latin | nescius | unaware, ignorant; not knowing how, unable |
| 6 | Latin | nesciō | to not know, to be ignorant, to not understand |
| 7 | Latin | sciō | to be able to, to know, understand, to have practical knowledge |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | sḱēy- | to shine; to shimmer; shadow; luster, gloss,... |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | skaidą | separation, distinction |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | skÁit- | to cut, part, spearate, divide; to cut, part,... |