Etymology

nina

N1I1N1A1

Today it means: A hidden message revealed in the completed grid of a crossword. Full definition →

Russian Ни́на
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nina · noun1

From the name Nina, taken from the cartoonist Al Hirschfeld's habit of hiding his daughter Nina's name in his drawings.

Nina · proper noun, noun2

  1. Russian · borrowed fromНи́на
  2. English todayNina

Borrowed into English in the nineteenth century, apparently from several sources. Many borrowings are of Russian Ни́на (Nína), the name of a Georgian saint in the fourth century, also known as Nino, of obscure origin and meaning, possibly connected with the Assyrian king Ninus. Others are of an Italian short form of diminutives like Annina from Anna and Giovannina from Giovanna. Phonologically or orthographically similar names are present in several languages, including Afrikaans, Hindi, Italian, Persian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and some Native American languages. In many of those, it is a nickname for names ending in -ina or -nina. (hidden message in crossword): After Nina Hirschfeld, the daughter of the American caricaturist Al Hirschfeld; her name was often concealed in his drawings.

NINA · noun3

See NINA loan.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.