nisus

Etymology

From Latin nīsus (“pressure, exertion”).

nisus means A mental or physical effort to attain a specific goal; a striving. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.

Why “nisus” is a great word

NISUS — [Noun] A directed mental or physical effort or striving toward a specific goal. From Latin nīsus, meaning "pressure, exertion," from the verb nītī ("to strive, lean, rely"). Unlike "endeavor," which implies a sustained, serious enterprise, or "impulse," which suggests a sudden, spontaneous urge, a nisus is the fundamental, directed pressure that precedes action. It is the seedling’s blind press through cracked pavement, the silent lean of a plant toward a distant light source, and the coiled tension in a sprinter's blocks before the gun—the irreducible kernel of will that precedes all becoming.

noun

A mental or physical effort to attain a specific goal; a striving.“The godly personality of a higher order, as the telos of the nisus of moral categoriality, is the sensus plenior of the nisus to a universal communalization of perspectives.”
The periodic procreative desire manifested in the spring by birds, etc.
The contraction of the diaphragm and abdominal muscles to evacuate faeces or urine.“1833, James O' Beirne, New Views on the Process of Defecation, and Their Application to the Pathology and Treatment of Diseases of the Stomach, Bowels, and Other Organs, quoted in 1833, John Johnson (editor), The Medico-Chirurgical Review, New Series: Volume 19 (Volume 23 of the Analytical Series), page 7, The evacuation of the rectum and bladder being completed, immediately the nisus ceases, the ”