nill

nill · verb¹

1. Old English · inherited fromnyllan“to not want”
2. Middle English · inherited fromnillen
3. English todaynill

From Middle English nillen, from Old English nyllan (“to not want”), corresponding to ne + will. Cognate with Old Frisian nelle. Not directly related to Latin nolo, which is an independent construction of the same manner, but the morphemes that compound both verbs are cognates.

nill · noun²

Compare Irish néal and Scottish Gaelic neul (“star, light”). Compare nebula.

nill · noun³

1. Latin · derived fromnix“snow, snow-white thing”
2. German · derived fromnichts
3. Medieval Latin · derived fromnil
4. English todaynill

From Medieval Latin nil and nihil (“nothing”) to represent German nichts and nix (“nothing”), confused with Latin nix (“snow, snow-white thing”), used for white forms of zinc oxide. Doublet of nihil album.

Words from the same roots