[ˈni.(ɦ)ɪɫ], [ˈniː.kil]
OrigoFrom nihilum, from ne- (“not”) + hīlum (“the least bit”).
- indeclinable, indefinitenothing
“Nihil est.” — It's nothing/It doesn't matter.
“Nihil sub sōle novum.” — Nothing new under the sun (proverb).
“Nihil agis, nihil moliris, nihil cogitas quod non ego non modo audiam sed etiam videam planeque sentiam.” — You do nothing, you plan nothing, you think of nothing which I not only do not hear, but which I do not see and know every particular of.
- indeclinable, indefinitenothing
“[Agorastocles] Ita me di ament, tardo amico nihil est quicquam inaequius,
praesertim homini amanti, qui quidquid agit properat omnia.
Sicut ego hos duco advocatos, homines spissigradissimos,” — [Agorastocles] May gods so love me, nothing is more unfair than having a slothful friend, even more so for a man in love, who in doing anything must all expedite. So I lead them, having called them fo
“In duabus tamen magnis honestisque rebus vere regius erat animus, in urbium donis et deorum cultu. Megalopolitanis in Arcadia murum se circumdaturum urbi est pollicitus maioremque partem pecuniae dedi” — (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- indeclinablenihil or nil + the enclitic particle -ne, nihilne or nilne — more emphatic in a negative sense, a stronger negative than nōn: nothing at all, not at all, none at all, not any
“Nīl·ne in mentem·st?” — Cannot you think of anything?
“Nihilne tē nocturnum praesidium Palātī, nihil urbis vigiliae, nihil timor populī, nihil concursus bonōrum omnium, nihil hic mūnītissimus habendī senātūs locus, nihil hōrum ōra voltūsque mōvērunt?” — Nothing at all! — you! — the nightly guard on the Palatine — nothing! — the patrols of the city — nothing! — the fear of the public — nothing! — the union of good people — nothing! — this most fortifi
- not-comparableat all, in nothing, in no respect
“Quod non fore dicto audientes neque signa laturi dicantur, nihil se ea re commoveri: scire enim, quibuscumque exercitus dicto audiens non fuerit, aut male re gesta fortunam defuisse aut aliquo facinor” — That they would neither be listening to orders nor would advance during fight, he wasn't at all moved: he knew perfectly well that so had not happened, under the command of whomsoever soldiers may hav
- not-comparable, rareto no purpose, in vain; for no reason, for nothing
“[Atticus] Quorsum tandem aut cur ista quaeris?
[Marcvs] Nihil sane, nisi ne nimis diligenter inquiras in ea quae isto modo memoriae sint prodita.” — [Atticus] But why, why would you meditate over such things?
[Marcus] Insooth, for no reason, if not that you won't take too close a look at them that be handed down in such a fashion.
Formaenihil(neuter, nominative) · -(genitive, neuter) · -(dative, neuter) · nihil(accusative, neuter) · -(ablative, neuter) · -(neuter, vocative) · nīl(alternative, syncope) · nichil(alternative, Late-Latin)