nithing

/ˈnaɪðɪŋ/

Etymology

From Middle English nithing, nithinc, nything, nythyng, nythynge, niþinge, nyþing, nyþyng, Early Middle English niðing, niþinc, niþincke (“coward, wretch; good-for-nothing; term of address for a boy or lad; stingy or miserly person; niggardly, miserly, stingy”), from Late Old English nithing, Old English niðing, nīþing (“coward; wretch; outlaw, villain”), from a North Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *nīþą (“envy; hate; malice”) (from Proto-Indo-European *neyH- (“to be angry”)) + *-ingō, *-ungō (suffix forming gerund nouns from verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish nidding, Late Latin nidingus, nithingus, Middle High German nīdinc, nīdunc (modern German Neiding (“(archaic) one who is envious”)), Old Norse níðingr (Icelandic níðingur (“scoundrel, rascal”), Norwegian niding),

nithing means Cowardly, dastardly. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

NITHING — [Adjective, Noun] Cowardly or dastardly; also, notoriously evil or wicked. From Old English niðing, from Proto-Germanic *nīþą ("envy, hate, malice") + *-ingō (noun-forming suffix), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *neyH- ("to be angry"). Borrowed from Old Norse níðingr ("scoundrel, villain"). Unlike "poltroon" (which cringes) or "dastard" (which slinks), "nithing" spits venom—a word for those who betray not just courage but honor, the kind of villain whose name is hissed in mead-halls and carved on outlaw stones. It is the oathbreaker fleeing the battlefield at dusk, the usurper poisoning his brother’s cup, the thief who steals not gold but kinship—a stain on the fabric of trust, as old as anger itself.

adj

Cowardly, dastardly.“In Denmark, and through all the North, they provoked a man to fight a duel, by publicly calling him Niding or "infamous†:" for he who had received ſo deep a ſtain, without endeavouring to waſh it out with the blood of his adverſary, would have loſt much more than the life he was ſo deſirous to ſave. [Footnote †: [...] King William Rufus having occaſion to draw together a ſudden body of forces, onl”
Notoriously evil or wicked; infamous.“If a man breaks into another man's house to attack him and kill him, that shall be called a nithing crime. It is a nithing crime if a man slays one to whom he has given pledges of safety. [...] And in every case when a man is [found] guilty of a nithing crime he shall depart as an outlaw who has forfeited his personal rights and his property to the last penny, land as well as movables.”

noun

A coward, a dastard; a wretch.“[W]hen there was a daungerous rebellion againſt King William Rufus and Rocheſter Caſtle then the moſt important & ſtrongeſt fort of this Realm was ſtowtly kept againſt him, after that he had but proclaimed that his ſubjects ſhould repaire thither to his Campe, vpon no other penaltie, but that whoſoeuer refuſed to come, ſhould be reputed a Niding: they ſwarmed to him immediatly from all ſides in ſu”
A wicked person; also, one who has acted immorally or unlawfully.“And for the moment, though he [Sweyn II of Denmark] escaped as usual to Baldwin [V, Count of Flanders]'s land and dwelt at Bruges, he was solemnly proclaimed a nithing or vile person (the most ignominious term in the Teutonic vocabulary) by the whole host, with the king, his brother-in-law, at their head.”