Different meanings of the word nice

English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• nyc (non-standard)
• noice (slang)

Pronunciation[edit]

• enPR: nīs, IPA^(key): /naɪs/
• (India) IPA^(key): /nɑɪs/, /nɑjs/
• (Falkland Islands English) IPA^(key): /nəɪs/
• Rhymes: -aɪs
• Homophone: gneiss

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English nyce, nice, nys, from Old French nice, niche, nisce (“simple, foolish, ignorant”), from Latin nescius (“ignorant, not knowing”); compare nesciō (“to know not, be ignorant of”), from ne (“not”) + sciō (“to know”).

Adjective[edit]

nice (comparative nicer, superlative nicest)

1. (chiefly informal) Pleasant, satisfactory. [from 18th c.]
   • 1998, Baha Men – “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

     When the party was nice, the party was jumpin’ (Hey, Yippie, Yi, Yo)

   • 2008, Rachel Cooke, The Guardian, 20 Apr.:

     «What’s difficult is when you think someone is saying something nice about you, but you’re not quite sure.»

2. (chiefly informal) Of a person: friendly, attractive. [from 18th c.]
3. Respectable; virtuous. [from 18th c.]

   What is a nice person like you doing in a place like this?

4. (with and, chiefly informal) Shows that the given adjective is desirable, or acts as a mild intensifier; pleasantly, quite. [from 18th c.]

   The soup is nice and hot.

   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 8, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients:

     We toted in the wood and got the fire going nice and comfortable. Lord James still set in one of the chairs and Applegate had cabbaged the other and was hugging the stove.

5. (chiefly informal) Showing refinement or delicacy, proper, seemly

   a nice way of putting it

6. (obsolete) Silly, ignorant; foolish. [14th–17th c.]
7. (now rare) Particular in one’s conduct; scrupulous, painstaking; choosy. [from 14th c.]

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 2, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     There is nothing he seemed to be more carefull of than of his honesty, and observe a kinde of decencie of his person, and orderly decorum in his habits, were it on foot or on horsebacke. He was exceeding nice in performing his word or promise.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:

     Mr Blifil, I am confident, understands himself better than to think of seeing my niece any more this morning, after what hath happened. Women are of a nice contexture; and our spirits, when disordered, are not to be recomposed in a moment.

   • 1999, Joyce Crick, translating Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Oxford 2008, p.83:

     But if I dispense with the dreams of neurotics, my main material, I cannot be too nice [translating wählerisch] in my dealings with the remainder.

8. (dated) Having particular tastes; fussy, fastidious. [from 14th c.]
9. (obsolete) Particular as regards rules or qualities; strict. [16th–19th c.]

   • 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume II, chapter 14:

     “Well, my dear,” he deliberately began, “considering we never saw her before, she seems a very pretty sort of young lady; and I dare say she was very much pleased with you. She speaks a little too quick. A little quickness of voice there is which rather hurts the ear. But I believe I am nice; I do not like strange voices; and nobody speaks like you and poor Miss Taylor. …»

   • 1818, Jane Austen, Persuasion, chapter 16:

     «Good company requires only birth, education and manners, and with regard to education is not very nice. Birth and good manners are essential.»

10. Showing or requiring great precision or sensitive discernment; subtle. [from 16th c.]
    • 1914: Saki, Laura:

      «It’s her own funeral, you know,» said Sir Lulworth; «it’s a nice point in etiquette how far one ought to show respect to one’s own mortal remains.»

    • 1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber 1992, p.131:

      It would be a nice theological point to try and establish whether Ophis is Moslem or gnostic.

    • 2006, Clive James, North Face of Soho, Picador 2007, p.242:

      Why it should have attained such longevity is a nice question.

11. (obsolete) Easily injured; delicate; dainty.
12. (obsolete) Doubtful, as to the outcome; risky. [16th–19th c.]

    • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

      [W]ere it good / To ſet the exact wealth of al our ſtates / Al at one caſt? to ſet ſo rich a maine / On the nice hazard of one doubtfull houre?

      Is it good / To bet all of our wealth / On one throw of the dice? To place so high a stake / On the risky hazard of one doubtful hour?

    • 1822, T. Creevey, Reminiscences, 28 Jul.:

      It has been a damned nice thing — the nearest run thing you ever saw in your life.

Usage notes[edit]

Sometimes used sarcastically to mean the opposite or to connote excess:

• 1710, Jonathan Swift, The Examiner No. XIV

  I have strictly observed this rule, and my imagination this minute represents before me a certain great man famous for this talent, to the constant practice of which he owes his twenty years’ reputation of the most skilful head in England, for the management of nice affairs.

• 1930, H.M. Walker, The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case

  Here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten us into.

• 1973, Cockerel Chorus, Nice One, Cyril!

  Nice one, Cyril!

Synonyms[edit]

• (easy to like: person): charming, delightful, friendly, kind, lovely, pleasant, sweet
• (easy to like: thing): charming, delightful, lovely, pleasant
• (having a pleasant taste or aroma): appetising/appetizing, delicious, moreish (informal), scrummy (slang), scrumptious (slang), tasty
• (subtle): fine, subtle

Antonyms[edit]

• (easy to like: person): horrible, horrid, nasty
• (easy to like: thing): horrible, horrid, nasty
• (having a pleasant taste or aroma): awful, disgusting, foul, horrible, horrid, nasty, nauseating, putrid, rancid, rank, sickening, distasteful, gross, unsatisfactory
• (respectable; virtuous): naughty

Derived terms[edit]

[edit]

• nicety

Descendants[edit]

• → Dutch: nice
• → German: nice
• → Danish: nice
• → Japanese: ナイス
• → Swedish: najs, nice
• → Norwegian:
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nice

Translations[edit]

Adverb[edit]

nice (comparative nicer, superlative nicest)

1. (colloquial) Nicely.

   Children, play nice.

   He dresses real nice.

   • 2002, Gina Riley; Jane Turner, That’s Unusual: Scripts from Kath and Kim, Series 2, page 245:

     This riesling’s going down nice.

Interjection[edit]

nice!

1. Used to signify a job well done.

   Nice! I couldn’t have done better.

2. Used to signify approval.

   Is that your new car? Nice!

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

nice (uncountable)

1. niceness.

   • 2000, Dana Stabenow, Midnight Come Again, →ISBN, page 111:

     She had refused as kindly as she know how, using up as much nice as she had energy for because she was glad of his company when three o’clock rolled around and she started thinking about September.

   • 2013, Todd Whitaker, What Great Teachers Do Differently: 17 Things That Matter Most, →ISBN:

     We could debate forever about whether we have enough of one or too much of another. But I know one thing for sure: We never have too much nice.

   • 2014, Jean Illsley Clarke, Connie Dawson, &David Bredehoft, How Much Is Too Much?, →ISBN:

     It is the absence of rules and too much nice that are more likely to produce terror.

Etymology 2[edit]

Name of a Unix program used to invoke a script or program with a specified priority, with the implication that running at a lower priority is «nice» (kind, etc.) because it leaves more resources for others.

Verb[edit]

nice (third-person singular simple present nices, present participle nicing, simple past and past participle niced)

1. (transitive, computing, Unix) To run a process with a specified (usually lower) priority.

Derived terms[edit]

• renice

Further reading[edit]

• nice in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• “nice”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• nice at OneLook Dictionary Search
• Nice at NiceDefinition.com

Anagrams[edit]

• Ince, Niec, cien, cine, cine-, icen

Czech[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [ˈnɪt͡sɛ]
• Rhymes: -ɪtsɛ
• Hyphenation: ni‧ce

Noun[edit]

nice

1. dative/locative singular of nika

Anagrams[edit]

• Ince

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English nice.

Adjective[edit]

nice (used only predicatively, not comparable)

1. (slang) nice

   Haar nieuwe album is echt nice.

   Her new album is really nice.

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French nice, inherited from Latin nescius.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /nis/

Adjective[edit]

nice (plural nices)

1. (archaic) candid, naive

   • 1907, Colette, La retraite sentimentale, page 41:

     Oui, crédulement, vous ne comprenez pas? Entendez donc que j’ai cru, plus nice qu’une pensionnaire, au pouvoir exclusif de cet inconnu que je fuyais !

     (please add an English translation of this quote)

Derived terms[edit]

• nicet

Further reading[edit]

• “nice”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English nice.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /naɪ̯s/

Adjective[edit]

nice (strong nominative masculine singular nicer, comparative (rare) nicer, superlative (extremely rare) am nicesten)

1. (colloquial) good, nice

   • 2020 December 8, Sara Tomšić, “Die Zukunft, das ist die grüne Samtcouch”, in ZEITmagazin‎^[2]:

     Na gut. Und auch, wenn ich nur das eine Regal hatte – in der Schule konnte ich durch dich mitreden. Ja, Pax, voll nice und geräumig, der Poäng-Sessel, mega gemütlich.

     Fine. And even if I only had that one shelf – thanks to you, I had a say in conversations at school. Oh, Pax, all nice and spacious, and the Poäng armchair, super comfortable.

   • 2021, “Feeling”, performed by Fatoni & Dexter:

     Ich steh’ im Club / Seh’ ziemlich nice aus / Ah, wobei, die Schuhe / Ne, scheiß drauf, ich seh’ nice aus

     I’m at the club / Lookin’ pretty good / Actually, these shoes / Nah, fuck it, I look good

Declension[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• “nice” in Duden online
• “nice” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “nice”, in Online-Wortschatz-Informationssystem Deutsch (in German), Mannheim: Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache, 2008–

Middle English[edit]

Adjective[edit]

nice

1. Alternative form of nyce

Turkish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Ottoman Turkish نیچه‎ (nice, “how much”), from Proto-Turkic *nēče, equative form of *nē (“what”). See ne (“what”), cognate to Karakhanid ناجا‎ (nēčē, “how much”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [niˈd͡ʒe]

Adjective[edit]

nice

1. many

Synonyms[edit]

• çok

Etymology 2[edit]

Ultimately from Proto-Turkic *nē- (“interrogative archetype”).

Adverb[edit]

nice

1. (dialectal or poetic) how

Synonyms[edit]

• nasıl

What’s the origin of nice?

Nice, it turns out, began as a negative term derived from the Latin nescius, meaning “unaware, ignorant.” This sense of “ignorant” was carried over into English when the word was first borrowed (via French) in the early 1300s. And for almost a century, nice was used to characterize a “stupid, ignorant, or foolish” person.

Starting in the late 1300s, nice began to refer to “conduct, a person, or clothing that was considered excessively luxurious or lascivious.” However, by the 1400s a new, more neutral sense of nice was emerging. At this time, nice began to refer to “a person who was finely dressed, someone who was scrupulous, or something that was precise or fussy.”

By the late 1500s, nice was further softening, describing something as “refined, culture,” especially used of polite society.

The high value placed on being coy, delicate, and reserved was instrumental in the semantic amelioration of the term nice in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Jane Austen, for instance, mocked this now-positive term in Northanger Abbey (1817) when Henry Tilney teases the naive Catherine Morland for her overuse of nice. He jokes: “… and this is a very nice day, and we are taking a very nice walk, and you are two very nice young ladies. Oh, it is a very nice word, indeed!—it does for everything.”

What’s the origin of the phrase nice guy?

Over 200 years later, nice still “does (the job) for everything.” It’s a catch-all word for someone or something “pleasant” or “agreeable.”

But, in the popular dating culture, the nice guy has become anything but. In fact, it seems nice, harkening back to its root, is becoming a not-so-nice word again. As found on internet forums as early as the 1980s, romantically unsuccessful men have identified as the niceguy, always losing out to their nemesis: the bad boy.

This dating nice guy apparently draws on earlier constructions of nice guy. Predated by nice fellow in the 1800s, the phrase nice guy is found in the written record in the early 1900s.

The expression nice guys finish last—agreeable people who get overpowered by their more assertive counterparts—is credited to Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher in 1946.Nice guy also makes an appearance in no more Mr. Nice Guy, said when someone is throwing down—and implying nice guys are soft and weak. Alice Cooper rocked the saying in his 1973 track “No More Mr. Nice Guy.” A reporter memorably asked it of Richard Nixon about the Vietnam War in 1977.

The language of a nice guy

You’ve likely heard—or maybe even used—the expression he’s a nice guy, but … People may use this phrase as a polite way to decline a potential male partner, whether because they aren’t interested in him or personally don’t find him attractive in some way.

In the 2000s on some feminist spaces on the internet, nice guy started to more specifically refer to an insecure man who expects his kindness to be rewarded with sex. At least that’s in part how the website Heartless Bitches International saw it in their noted 2002 denunciation against the nice guy. This piece helped influence Nice Guy™ and Nice Guy Syndrome, terms for men who think being nice alone entitles them sex.

In current usage, it’s not uncommon to see some so-called nice guys throwing around the term friend-zone. A person (usually a guy) can be put in the friend-zone or be friend-zoned when someone he is interested in dating views him as just a friend. While friend-zone can be used in a neutral way, it is often used in an entitled way to question why a person always chooses the “nice guy” last.

Does this mean no more Mr. Nice Guy?

Of course, the term nice guy can still be used non-ironically to refer to a genuinely nice dude, e.g., “Your dad is such a nice guy!” However, it’s important to keep tone in mind as you come across the term nice guy on the internet, especially if it appears in quotes.

As a 2012 piece in Jezebel reminds us: “… rule number one of being a real nice guy is that you never, ever refer to yourself as a ‘nice guy.’”