English word origin

Etymology of nil

Borrowed from Latin nīl, a contraction of nihil, nihilum (“nothing”). See nihilism, nihility.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

noun

Nothing; zero. · A score of zero

det

No, not any.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Latin nīl, a contraction of nihil, nihilum (“nothing”). See nihilism, nihility.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionnīlla

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "nīl"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Latin nīl"
    },
    {
      "name": "sup",
      "args": {
        "1": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "¹"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "nīl",
      "nil#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "nihil",
      "nihil#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "nihilum",
      "nihilum#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "nihilism",
      "nihilism#English"
    ],
    [
      "nihility",
      "nihility#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Nothing; zero.",
        "A score of zero"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable",
        "usually"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 115368
    },
    {
      "pos": "det",
      "glosses": [
        "No, not any."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "d703b217b24bcfb5939a072d182049d5b027f08146422a4749d639bfef2b3f17",
      "rawRecordSha256": "03add5739a40f8b14b0e784b088e2b4e6b2901ce93db03f43bb2dd85ce47ddda",
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    }
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for nil →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-bmls