Etymology
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nit (n.)

"louse egg," Middle English nite, from Old English hnitu, from Proto-Germanic *hnitu- (source also of Norwegian nit, Middle Dutch nete, Dutch neet, Middle High German niz, German Niß), from PIE root *knid- "egg of a louse" (source also of Russian, Polish gnida, Czech knida; Greek konis, genitive konidos "egg of a louse").

Entries linking to nit

nitpicker (n.)

also nit-picker, "pedantic critic," by 1951, perhaps 1946, a figurative use, said to be originally military jargon; see nit (n.) + pick (v.).

Two long-time Pentagon stand-bys are fly-speckers and nit-pickers. The first of these nouns refers to people whose sole occupation seems to be studying papers in the hope of finding flaws in the writing, rather than making any effort to improve the thought or meaning; nit-pickers are those who quarrel with trivialities of expression and meaning, but who usually end up without making concrete or justified suggestions for improvement. [Collier's, Nov. 24, 1951]
nitty (adj.)

"full of nits," 1560s, from nit + -y (2).

updated on November 17, 2021

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Dictionary entries near nit

Nipponese

nippy

nirvana

nisei

nisi

nit

nite

niter

nitpick

nitpicker

nitrate

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