niding

plural nidings

1. alternativeAlternative form of nithing.

   2 more examples

   [W]hen there was a daungerous rebellion againſt King William Rufus and Rocheſter Caſtle then the moſt important & ſtrongeſt fort of this Realm was ſtowtly kept againſt him, after that he had but proclaimed that his ſubjects ſhould repaire thither to his Campe, vpon no other penaltie, but that whoſoeuer refuſed to come, ſhould be reputed a Niding: they ſwarmed to him immediatly from all ſides in ſuch numbers, that he had in a few daies an infinite Armie, and the rebells therewith weere ſo terrified, that they forthwith yeelded.

   1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “The Languages”, in Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, →OCLC, page 30

   [William] Rufus immediately ſet about raiſing an army to chaſtiſe him [Odo of Bayeux]; but finding recruits to come in but ſlowly, he iſſued out a proclamation ſignifying, that whoſoever would not be reputed a Niding, ſhould repair to the ſiege of Rocheſter. What was the meaning of the word, Niding, has not reached theſe days; it might perhaps anſwer to our Ninny, a ſoft, fooliſh, unmanly fellow; undoubtedly it was a term of reproach, ſince to avoid that appellation, ſoldiers flocked to his ſtandard from every quarter, [...]

   1795, Henry Boswell, “Rochester Castle, in Kent”, in The Antiquities of England and Wales Displayed; […], new edition, London: Printed for Alex[ander] Hogg, […], →OCLC

comparative more niding · superlative most niding

1. alternativeAlternative form of nithing.

   In Denmark, and through all the North, they provoked a man to fight a duel, by publicly calling him Niding or "infamous:" for he who had received ſo deep a ſtain, without endeavouring to waſh it out with the blood of his adverſary, would have loſt much more than the life he was ſo deſirous to ſave.

   1770, [Paul Henri] Mallet, “The Passion of the Ancient Scandinavians for Arms: Their Valour: The Manner in which They Made War. […]”, in [Thomas Percy], transl., Northern Antiquities: Or, a Description of the Manners, Customs, Religion and Laws of the Ancient Danes, and Other Northern Nations; Including Those of Our Own Saxon Ancestors. […] In Two Volumes. […], volume I, London: Printed for T. Carnan and Co. […], →OCLC, pages 218–219