nice

nice · adjective, adverb, interjection, noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromnescius“ignorant, not knowing”
2. Old French · derived fromnice
3. Middle English · inherited fromnyce
4. English todaynice

From Middle English nyce, nice, nys, from Old French nice, niche, nisce (“simple, foolish, ignorant”), from Latin nescius (“ignorant, not knowing”); compare nesciō (“to know not, be ignorant of”), from ne (“not”) + sciō (“to know”).

nice · verb²

Name of a Unix program used to invoke a script or program with a specified priority, with the implication that running at a lower priority is "nice" (kind, etc.) because it leaves more resources for others.

Nice · proper noun³

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromΝῑ́καια
2. Latin · derived fromNīcaea
3. French · borrowed fromNice
4. English todayNice

Borrowed from French Nice, from Latin Nīcaea, from Ancient Greek Νῑ́καια (Nī́kaia), from νῑ́κη (nī́kē, “victory”) + -ῐᾰ (-ĭă, “-ia”, suffix forming place names). It was named for a 4th-century-BCE victory of its colonizing Phocaean Greeks over local Ligurians, probably the Vediantii. Doublet of Iznik and Nicaea.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 18th c. Pleasant, satisfactory, complimentary.
• from 18th c. Of a person: friendly, attractive.
• from 18th c. Respectable; virtuous.
• from 18th c. Shows that the given adjective is desirable, or acts as a mild intensifier; pleasantly, quite.
• 14th–17th c. Silly, ignorant; foolish.
• from 14th c. Particular in one's conduct; scrupulous, painstaking; choosy.
• from 14th c. Having particular tastes; fussy, fastidious.
• 16th–19th c. Particular as regards rules or qualities; strict.