nill

N1I1L1L1
/nɪl/

verb

To be unwilling; will not (+ infinitive).

Similar
zinc oxideparticularly white forms used in medicine and cosmetics
OriginMiddle English nillen ← Old English nyllan →
UncommonScrabble 4
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Meanings

nill1

verbnill (third-person singular simple present nills, present participle nilling, simple past and past participle nilled or (obsolete) nould)

present singular third person nills · participle present nilling · participle past nilled · past nilled · obsolete participle past nould · obsolete past nould

  1. auxiliarymodalobsoleteTo be unwilling; will not (+ infinitive).

    I here auow thee neuer to forſake. Ill weares he armes, that nill them vſe for Ladies ſake.

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto V”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 465
    1 more example

    What I nill tell, you aske (quoth ſhe) in vaine, Nor mou’d by praier, nor conſtraind by powre[…]

    1600, [Torquato Tasso], “The Twelfth Booke of Godfrey of Bulloigne”, in Edward Fairefax [i.e., Edward Fairfax], transl., Godfrey of Bulloigne, or The Recouerie of Ierusalem. […], London: […] Ar[nold] Hatfield, for I[saac] Iaggard and M[atthew] Lownes, →OCLC, stanza 61, page 225
  2. archaicintransitiveTo be unwilling.

    I must indeed abide the Doom of Men, whether I will or I nill:[…]

    1955 October 20, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “Appendix A”, in The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings […], New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published December 1978, →ISBN, page 427
  3. archaictransitiveTo reject, refuse, negate.

    Certes (ſayd he) I n’ill thine offred grace, Ne to be made ſo happy doe intend[…].

    1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, page 280

nill2

noun
  1. Shining sparks thrown off from melted brass.
  2. Scales of hot iron from the forge.

nill3

nounnill (uncountable)
  1. obsoleteuncountableSynonym of zinc oxide, particularly white forms used in medicine and cosmetics.

    Synonyms: zinc oxide, particularly white forms used in medicine and cosmetics

Nill4

proper nounNill (plural Nills)

plural Nills

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSynonym of zinc oxide, particularly white forms used in medicine and cosmetics.

Similar
zinc oxideparticularly white forms used in medicine and cosmetics
Also see
refuse

Origin

nill · verb

  1. Old Englishnyllan“to not want”
  2. Middle Englishnillen
  3. Englishnill

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.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

nill · noun

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

Full word history & related roots →

nill · noun

  1. Latinnix“snow, snow-white thing”
  2. Germannichts
  3. Medieval Latinnil
  4. Englishnill

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.

More words from Medieval Latin, German, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with nill

willstilluntilbillhillbrazilkilltillillskillphilpillgrilllilmiltilnilrefillfulfillchillspillgillgoodwillthrill
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

nilNillnilNillnilNill
Cite this entry
APA

nill. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nill

MLA

“nill.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nill. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nill,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nill.

Source: nill on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.