Meanings
- The Devil; Satan.
He sat down in the middle of the floor, took his chalk out and marked a large ring around him, and round about this he wrote the Lord's Prayer, and then he did not feel afraid even if Old Nick himself should come.
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 158Synonyms: Old Harry, Old Ned, Old Scratch, Old Serpent, Aduwallah, Adversary, Al-Shaytaan, Antichrist
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe Devil; Satan.
Origin
- Old Englishnicor“water demon”
- EnglishOld Nick
Originally 17th century. Apparently a special use of the forename Nick, perhaps in jocular or contrastive reference to Saint Nicholas. Alternatively, it may be derived from nicker, or some other derivative of Old English nicor (“water demon”).
More words from Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Old Nick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Nick
“Old Nick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Nick. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Old Nick,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Nick.
Source: Old Nick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.