View source for nick

{{also|Nick}}
==English==
{{was wotd|2019|May|29}}

===Pronunciation===
* {{IPA|en|/nɪk/|a=RP,GA}}
* {{audio|en|en-us-nick.ogg|a=GA}}
* {{audio|en|en-au-nick.ogg|a=AU}}
* {{hmp|en|nic|Nick}}
* {{rhymes|en|ɪk|s=1}}

===Etymology 1===
The noun is derived from Late {{inh|en|enm|nik||notch, tally; nock of an arrow}}.<ref>{{R:MED Online|entry=nik|pos=n|id=MED29531|accessdate=30 January 2019}}</ref> Its {{unknown|en|title=further etymology is unknown}}; a connection with {{m|en|nock||notch in a bow to hold the bowstring; notch at the rear of an arrow that fits the bowstring; cleft in the buttocks}} has not been clearly established.<ref>{{R:OED Online|pos=''n.{{sup|1}}''|noformat=yes|id=126760|date=September 2003|nodot=yes}}; {{R:Lexico}}</ref>

The verb appears to be derived from the noun, though the available evidence shows that some of the verb senses predate the noun senses. No connection with words in {{w|Germanic languages}} such as {{cog|da|nikke||to nod}}, {{cog|dum|nicken||to bend; to bow}} (modern {{cog|nl|knikken||to nod}}), {{cog|gml|nicken||to bend over; to sink}}, {{cog|gmh|nicken||to bend; to depress}} (modern {{cog|de|nicken||to nod}}), {{cog|gml|knicken||to bend; to snap}} (modern {{cog|de|knicken||to bend; to break}}, {{cog|ofs|hnekka||to nod}}, and {{cog|sv|nicka||to nod}}, has been clearly established.<ref>{{R:OED Online|pos=''v.{{sup|2}}''|noformat=yes|id=126763|date=September 2003}}</ref>

====Noun====
{{en-noun}}

# A [[small]] [[cut#Verb|cut]] in a [[surface#Noun|surface]].
## {{lb|en|now|rare}} A particular [[place#Noun|place]] or [[point#Noun|point]] considered as [[mark#Verb|marked]] by a nick; the [[exact#Adjective|exact]] point or [[critical]] [[moment]].
##: {{ux|en|[[in the nick of time|in the '''nick''' of time]]}}
##* {{RQ:Montaigne Florio Essayes|book=II|chapter=We Taste Nothing Purely|page=389|passage=When I imagin man fraughted with al the commodities may be wiſhed; {{...}} I finde him to ſinke vnder the burthen of his eaſe, and perceive him altogether vnable to beare ſo pure, ſo conſtant, and ſo vniverſall a ſenſualitie. Truely he flies when he is even vpon the '''nicke''', and naturally haſtneth to eſcape it, as from [a] ſtep whereon he cannot ſtay or containe himſelfe, and feareth to ſinke into it.}}
##* {{RQ:Howell Dodona's Grove|chapter=A Character of Lvrana|page=62|passage={{...}} ſuffred the fatall [[thread|threed]] to bee ſpunne out to that length for ſome politique reſpects, and then to cut it off in the very '''nicke'''.}}
##* {{RQ:Dickens Christmas Carol|page=74|passage=He felt that he was restored to consciousness in the right '''nick''' of time, for the especial purpose of holding a conference with the second messenger despatched to him through Jacob Marley's intervention.}}
##* {{RQ:Robert Browning Men and Women|year=1856|poem=Childe Roland|stanza=29|page=104|passage=Here ended, then, / Progress this way. When, in the very '''nick''' / Of giving up, one time more, came a click / As when a trap shuts&nbsp;– you're inside the den!}}
## {{lb|en|printing|dated}} A [[notch#Noun|notch]] cut [[crosswise]] in the [[shank#Noun|shank]] of a [[type#Noun|type]], to [[assist#Verb|assist]] a [[compositor]] in [[place#Verb|placing]] it properly in the [[stick#Noun|stick]], and in [[distribution]].
##* {{quote-book|en|author=[[w:William Savage (printer)|William Savage]]|entry=NICK|title=A Dictionary of the Art of Printing|location=London|publisher=[[w:Longman|Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans]]|year=1841|page=543|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=QLXukDnn4PMC&pg=PA543|oclc=906093397|passage=A '''nick''' is a hollow cast crossways in the shanks of types, to make a distinction readily between differnt sorts and sizes; and to enable the compositor to perceive quickly the bottom of the letter as it lies in the case, when composing; as '''nicks''' are always cast on that side of the shank on which the bottom of the face of the letter is placed. A great deal of inconvenience frequently arises, owing to the founders casting different founts of types with a similar '''nick''' in each.}}
##* {{quote-book|en|title=[[w:1862 International Exhibition|International Exhibition, 1862]]. Jurors’ Reports|location=London|publisher=[[w:George Bell & Sons|Bell and Daldy]],{{nb...|Fleet Street.}}|year=1862|section=class XXVIII, section C (Plate, Letterpress, and Other Modes of Printing)|page=3|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=7qk8he-Bvs4C&pg=RA16-PA3|oclc=907777960|passage=The types are of the usual thickness and height. In the centre of each type, in the front, is a deep '''nick''' of a dovetail shape, which fits upon a metal edge, so that the type cannot be displaced. But of 111 letters which are required in the fount, each letter has two, three, or four other '''nicks''' cut at right angles, the '''nicks''' of no one letter being the same as another.}}
# {{non-gloss|Senses connoting something small.}}
## {{lb|en|cricket}} A small [[deflection]] of the [[ball#Noun|ball]] off the [[edge#Noun|edge]] of the [[bat#Noun|bat]], often going to the [[wicket-keeper]] for a [[catch#Noun|catch]].
##* {{quote-book|en|author=David Fraser|chapter=The Man in White is Always Right (but He is Not Always Neutral)|title=Cricket and the Law: The Man in White is Always Right|location=Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York, N.Y.|publisher=w:Routledge|year=2005|page=107|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=492RAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA107|isbn=978-0-7146-5347-1|passage=Just as a judge may mistakenly believe in the credibility of a clever liar, thereby reaching an 'incorrect decision', an umpire dealing with the blur of a fast bowler and listening for a '''nick''' of the bat, or lifting his eyes quickly from the bowler's front foot to follow the flight and pitch of the ball to determine if the batter is out LBW &#91;[[leg before wicket]]&#93;, can easily be mistaken.}}
## {{lb|en|genetics}} One of the [[single]]-[[strand]]ed [[DNA]] [[segment#Noun|segments]] produced during [[nick translation]].
##* {{quote-book|en|author=David Korn; Paul A. Fisher; Teresa S.-F. Wang|chapter=Mechanisms of Catalysis of Human DNA Polymerases α and β|editor=Waldo E. Cohn|title=Progress in Nucleic Acid Research and Molecular Biology|location=New York, N.Y.|publisher=w:Academic Press|year=1981|volume=26 (DNA: Multiprotein Interactions)|page=66|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWzDdPxj8cEC&pg=PA66|isbn=978-0-12-540026-8|passage=Analysis of the effect of temperature on the polymerization reaction with nicked and gapped DNA substrates in Mn{{sup|2+}} (''8'') [...] reveals identical values of activation energy (''E''{{sub|a}}) and ''Q''{{sub|10}}, indicating that the frequency of productive interactions of polymerase β with 3′-hydroxyl termini at '''nicks''' and gaps is indistinguishable and suggesting that localized destabilization of the 5′-terminated DNA strand at the '''nick''' site does not contribute significantly to the rate-determining step(s) of the synthetic reaction.}}
##* {{quote-book|en|author=Lesley-Ann Giddings; David J. Newman|chapter=Activating the Expression of Natural Product Biosynthetic Gene Clusters|title=Bioactive Compounds from Extremophiles: Genomic Studies, Biosynthetic Gene Clusters, and New Dereplication Methods|series=SpringerBriefs in Microbiology|location=Cham, Switzerland; Heidelberg|publisher=[[w:Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]|year=2015|section=section 2.2 (Heterologous Expression)|page=13|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=QuoXBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-14836-6|isbn=978-3-319-14835-9|issn=2191-5385|passage=The double-stranded insert and linearized vector are denatured, and the resulting single strands of DNA anneal with their overlapping ends and extend using each other as a template to form double-stranded circular plasmids with only two '''nicks''', one on each single strand. [...] Lastly, the '''nicks''' are covalently closed upon transformation into ''E. coli'' using its natural repair processes.}}
##* {{quote-book|en|author=Byong H. Lee|chapter=Concepts and Tools for Recombinant DNA Technology|title=Fundamentals of Food Biotechnology|edition=2nd|location=Chichester, West Sussex|publisher={{w|Wiley-Blackwell}}, [[w:Wiley (publisher)|John Wiley & Sons]]|year=2015|section=section 2.2.3 (Purpose of Gene Cloning)|pages=172–173|pageurl=https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=azWtBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA172|isbn=978-1-118-38495-4|passage=The '''''nick''' translation'' process is simply a replication of DNA ''in vitro'' with DNA polymerase I (''Klenow fragment'') and radioactive nucleotide, which becomes incorporated into the duplicated DNA at a '''nick''' (break).}}
## {{lb|en|real tennis|squash|racquetball}} The point where the [[wall#Noun|wall]] of the [[court#Noun|court]] meets the [[floor#Noun|floor]].
##* {{quote-book|en|editor={{w|Ray Stubbs}} (editorial consultant); Ed Wilson|chapter=Racket Sports|title=The Sports Book: The Sports, the Rules, the Tactics, the Techniques|edition=4th|location=London|publisher=[[w:DK (publisher)|Dorling Kindersley]]|month=September|year=2013|page=189|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=kdcAAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT190|isbn=978-1-4093-3508-5|passage=Spin is a major feature of real tennis – because of it, some of the slowest shots can be the hardest to return. [...] Strokes played into the "'''nick'''" (the corner of the floor and the wall) and aggressive drives into the dedans, the winning gallery, or the grille are unreturnable.}}
# {{lb|en|UK|Ireland|Commonwealth|colloquial}} ''Often in the expressions'' '''in bad nick''' ''and'' '''in good nick''': [[condition#Noun|condition]], [[state#Noun|state]].
#: {{ux|en|The car I bought was cheap and in good '''nick'''.}}
#* {{quote-journal|en|author=w:Jane Gardam|title=Give us a bishop in high heels [print version: ‘Give us a high-heeled bishop’, ''International New York Times'', 22 July 2014, page&nbsp;11]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/opinion/church-of-england-female-bishops.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107022023/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/21/opinion/church-of-england-female-bishops.html|archivedate=7 November 2015|newspaper=w:The New York Times|date=20 July 2014|passage=[F]urther south in Kent, there was [[w:Mildrith|St. Mildred]], whose mother &#91;{{w|Domne Eafe}}&#93;, in 670, founded the minster that still stands there in good '''nick''', with nine nuns who are an ever-present help in trouble to all religions and none.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|year=2017|author=[[w:James Wharton (author)|James Wharton]]|title=Something for the Weekend|publisher=Biteback Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5YtDwAAQBAJ&lpg=PT11&dq=%22%22&hl=&pg=PT11#v=onepage&q&f=false|isbn=9781785902383|text={{...}}considering they've abused their bodies with everything from M and G to crystal meth over the course of the last day or so, some longer, they look in pretty good '''nick'''.}}
#* {{quote-journal|en|date=2022-05-14|title=Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place|work=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/business/2022/05/14/tech-bubbles-are-bursting-all-over-the-place|issn=0013-0613|passage=More unexpectedly, older tech and hardware stocks seem in decent '''nick''', Mr Ives notes.}}
# {{lb|en|UK|Ireland|Commonwealth|law enforcement|slang}} A [[police]] [[station#Noun|station]] or [[prison]].
#: {{ux|en|He was arrested and taken down to Sun Hill '''nick''' [police station] to be charged.}}
#: {{ux|en|He’s just been released from Shadwell '''nick''' [prison] after doing ten years for attempted murder.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Russell Brand|chapter=I am an Anarchist-a|title=[[w:Revolution (book)|Revolution]]|location=New York, N.Y.|publisher=w:Ballantine Books|year=2014|page=81|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=TV_2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81|isbn=978-1-101-88291-7|passage=I recall too that the chats in the back of the [police] van weren't too bad as they dispatched me to the '''nick'''.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|date=2019-06-06|author=Frankie Fraser; James Morton|title=Mad Frank's Diary: The Confessions of Britain’s Most Notorious Villain|publisher=Random House|isbn=9780753554043
|text=Poor Billy, he got seven years and he died in the '''nick''' in Liverpool in January 1958. Tragedy, he was such a good man, the best. He had a big funeral back in Clerkenwell. Eva went to it. I was in the '''nick''' down south at the time.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|date=2021-03-23|author=William Stokes|title=The Riddle Exposed:: The Whiskey Firebombing's Link to the McCulkin Family Murders|publisher=Interactive Publications|isbn=9781922332523|page=80
|text= “They say he's a friend of Stuart's who he met in the '''nick''' down south. No one in Brisbane knows him.” “Not that anyone would admit to it anyway.” }}

=====Usage notes=====
* The sense "a particular place or point" or "a critical moment" still exists in the still-common expression ''[[in the nick of time]].''

=====Derived terms=====
{{der2|en|in the nick of time|nick point|nick-time|on the nick|in the nick|nick-bent| nick of time}}

=====Translations=====
{{trans-top|small cut in a surface}}
* Afrikaans: {{t|af|snytjie}}
* Czech: {{t+|cs|zářez|m}}, {{t+|cs|vrub|m}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|naarmu}}
* German: {{t+|de|Schramme|f}}
* Maori: {{t|mi|tongari}}, {{t|mi|tokari}}, {{t|mi|pakini}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|щерби́на|f}}, {{t+|ru|зазу́брина|f}}
* Slovak: {{t|sk|zárez|m}}, {{t+|sk|štrbina|f}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|exact point or critical moment}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|käännekohta}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|(''cricket'') small deflection of the ball}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|näpy}}, {{t|fi|näpäys}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|(''real tennis'') point where the wall of the court meets the floor}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|condition}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|kondis}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|(''slang'') police station or prison}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|naarmu}}, {{t+|fi|putka}}
* French: {{t+|fr|poste|m}}, {{t+|fr|taule|f}}, {{t+|fr|zonzon|f}}, {{t+|fr|gnouf|m}}, {{t+|fr|trou|m}}
{{trans-bottom}}

====Verb====
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|transitive}} To make a [[#Noun|nick]] or [[notch#Noun|notch]] in; to [[cut#Verb|cut]] or [[scratch#Verb|scratch]] in a [[minor#Adjective|minor]] way.
#: {{ux|en|I '''nicked''' myself while I was shaving.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Thea Astley|title=w:A Kindness Cup|location=Melbourne, Vic.|publisher=[[w:Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson Australia]]|year=1974|isbn=978-0-17-005015-9|location2=Sydney, N.S.W.; Melbourne, Vic.|publisher2=[[w:Allen & Unwin|Allen & Unwin House of Books]]|year2=2012|pages2=1–2|pageurl2=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDKllVxqJ7oC&pg=PA1|isbn2=978-1-74331-200-1|passage=This man pauses in his shaving to squint at the piece of paper again, razor hesitant, eye returning anxious but reluctant to the blurred letters. [...] He '''nicks''' himself and the tired blood trickles a moment, stops easily these days almost before the cotton-wool sticks.}}
## {{lb|en|transitive}} To make [[ragged#Adjective|ragged]] or [[uneven]], as by cutting nicks or notches in; to [[deface]], to [[mar#Verb|mar]].
##* {{RQ:Shakespeare Antony and Cleopatra|act=III|scene=xiii|page=356|column=2|passage=The itch of his Affection ſhould not then / Haue '''nickt''' his Captain-ſhip, at ſuch a point, / When halfe to halfe the world oppos'd, he being / The meered queſtion?|translation=The itch of his affection should not then / Have '''marred''' his captainship, at such a point, / When half of the world was opposing the other half, he being / the crucial player?}}
##* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Matthew Prior|chapter=Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind. In Three Cantos|title=The Poetical Works of Matthew Prior, Esq.{{nb...|[...] To which is Prefixed the Life of the Author.}}|location=Edinburgh|publisher=Printed by Mundell and Son,{{nb...|Royal Bank Close.}}|year=c. 1715–1717|year_published=1793|oclc=931361946|newversion=republished in|editor2=[[w:Robert Anderson (editor and biographer)|Robert Anderson]]|title2=The Works of the British Poets.{{nb...|With Prefaces, Biographical and Critical}}|location2=London|publisher2=Printed for John & Arthur Arch; and for Bell & Bradfute, and J. Mundell & Co. Edinburgh|year2=1795|volume2=VII|section2=canto III|page2=466|pageurl2=https://books.google.com/books?id=90wwqMPHlHYC&pg=PA57-IA409|column2=2|oclc2=221535929|passage=But, give him port and potent ſack, / From ''milkſop'' he ſtarts up ''Mohack''; / Holds that the happy know no hours; / So through the ſtreets at midnight ſcowers, / Breaks watchmen's heads and chairmen's glaſſes, / And thence proceeds to '''nicking''' ſaſhes; {{...}}}}
## {{lb|en|transitive|rare}} To make a [[crosscut]] or [[cut#Noun|cuts]] on the [[underside]] of (the [[tail#Noun|tail]] of a [[horse#Noun|horse]], in order to make the [[animal]] [[carry#Verb|carry]] it [[high#Adjective|higher]]).
##* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Henry Bracken|chapter=Receipts. To Cure the Grease, Surfeits, Loss of Appetite, Cough, Shortness of Breath; to Purify the Blood, and to Fatten Tired and Wasted Horses. [Additional Information.]|title=Taplin Improved; or A Complete Treatise on the Art of Farriery,{{nb...|wherein are Fully Explained the Nature and Structure of that Usefull Creature, a Horse; with the Diseases and Accidents He is Liable to; and the Methods of Cure. Exemplified by Ten Elegant Cuts, each the Full Figure of a Horse, Describing All the Various Parts of that Noble Animal. Likewise, Rules for Breeding and Training of Colts: Practical Receipts for the Cure of Common Distempers Incident to Oxen, Cows, Calves, Sheep, Lambs, Hogs, &c. To which is Prefixed Ten Minutes Advice to the Purchasers of Horses.}}|location=Troy, N.Y.|publisher=Printed and sold by Francis Adancourt,{{nb...|at the Columbian Book-store, and also sold by Whiting & Powers, in Troy—by H. C. Southwick, in Albany—W. E. Norman, in Hudson, & Samuel Wood, in N. York.}}|year=1815|pages=117–118|pageurl=https://archive.org/details/2574007R.nlm.nih.gov/page/n122/mode/1up|oclc=921915607|passage=The barbarous custom of docking and '''nicking''' the tail, and cutting the ears of horses, is too prevalent. [...] [I]n the loss of their tail, they find even a still greater inconvenience. During summer they are perpetually teazed with swarms of insects that either attempt to suck their blood or deposit their eggs in the rectum, which they have no means of lashing off; and in winter they are deprived of a necessary defence against the cold. [From the ''Boston Yankee''.]}}
##* {{quote-book|en|author=Richard Mason|chapter=Nicking|title=The Gentleman’s New Pocket Farrier, Comprising a General Description of the Noble and Useful Animal the Horse;{{nb...|together with the Quickest and Simplest Mode of Fattening; Necessary Treatment while Undergoing Excessive Fatigue, or on a Journey; the Construction and Management of Stables; Different Marks for Ascertaining the Age of a Horse.—Also, a Concise Account of the Diseases to which the Horse is Subject; with such Remedies as Long Experience has Proved to be Effectual. [...] To which is Added a Prize Essay on Mules; and an Appendix, Containing Observations and Receipts for the Cure of Most of the Common Distempers Incident to Horses, Oxen, Cows, Calves, Sheep, Lambs, Swine, Dogs, &c. Selected from Different Authors. Also an Adenda, Containing Annals of the Turf, American Stud Book, Rules for Training, Racing, &c.}}|edition=5th|location=Richmond, Va.|publisher=Printed by Peter Cottom,{{nb...|and for sale at his book store, near the Eagle Hotel.}}|year=1830|page=48|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=GVJgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA48|oclc=|passage='''Nicking''' a horse has been generally believed to be attended with much difficulty, and to require great ingenuity and art to perform the operation. The '''nicking''' alone, is by far the easiest part, as the curing and pullying requires considerable attention and trouble. Nicking is an operation performed for the purpose of making a horse carry an elegant artificial tail, which adds much to his beauty and value.}}
# {{lb|en|transitive|obsolete}} To [[fit into]] or [[suit#Verb|suit]], as by a [[correspondence]] of nicks; to [[tally#Verb|tally]] with.
#* {{RQ:Camden Remaines|chapter=Allusions|page=140|passage=An Alluſion is as it were a dalliance or playing with words, like in ſound, vnlike in ſense, by changing, adding, or ſubtracting a letter or two; ſo that words '''nicking''' and reſembling one the other, are appliable to diffrent ſignifications.}}
## {{lb|en|transitive|sometimes|figurative}} To [[hit#Verb|hit]] at, or in, the nick; to [[touch#Verb|touch]] [[rightly]]; to [[strike#Verb|strike]] at the [[precise]] point or [[time#Noun|time]].
##* {{RQ:L'Estrange Fables of Aesop|fablenumber=XXXVIII|fable=A Horse and an Asse. [Reflexion]|page=38|passage=[I]t requires a Critical Nicety both of Wit, and of Judgment, to find out the ''Genius'', or the Propenſions, of a Child, {{...}} The Juſt Seaſon of Doing Things must be '''Nick'd''', and All Accidents Obſerv'd and Improv'd; for Weak Minds are to be as Narrowly Attended, as Sickly Bodies: {{...}}}}
## {{lb|en|transitive|cricket}} To hit the [[ball#Noun|ball]] with the [[edge#Noun|edge]] of the [[bat#Noun|bat]] and [[produce#Verb|produce]] a [[fine#Adjective|fine]] [[deflection]].
##* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Ian Botham; with Dean Wilson|chapter=[[w:Steve James (cricketer)|Steve James]] – Fine Dining|title=Beefy’s Cricket Tales: My Favourite Stories from On and Off the Field|location=London|publisher=w:Simon & Schuster|year=2013|page=145|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=415fSGJJP9kC&pg=PA145|isbn=978-1-84983-801-6|passage=Two balls later, I '''nick''' one and it carries beautifully to [[w:Peter Bowler (cricketer)|Peter Bowler]] at first slip, a complete dolly catch, and he drops it.}}
## {{lb|en|transitive|gaming}} To [[throw#Verb|throw]] or [[turn up]] (a [[number#Noun|number]] when [[play#Verb|playing]] [[dice#Noun|dice]]); to [[hit upon]].
##* {{RQ:Goldsmith She Stoops to Conquer|page=63|passage=My old luck: I never '''nick'd''' ſeven that I did not throw ames ace three times following.}}
##* {{quote-book|en|author=William Rouse|chapter=Problem XXX. What are the Probabilities of Nicking each Main?|title=The Doctrine of Chances, or The Theory of Gaming, Made Easy to Every Person Acquainted with Common Arithmetic,{{nb...|so as to Enable Them to Calculate the Probabilities to Events in Lotteries, Cards, Horse Racing, Dice, &c. with Tables on Chance, Never before Published, which from Mere Inspection will Solve a Great Variety of Questions.}}|location=London|publisher=Printed by Gye & Balne,{{nb...|Gracechurch Street}}, for the author, published by Lackington, Allen & Co.{{nb...|Finsbury Square, and sold by all booksellers.}}|year=[1814]|page=150|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=wmgUAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA150|oclc=952637763|passage=The points to '''nick''' each main have been mentioned before, and the table on dice will show how many chances there are to throw each of these points with 2 dice, which together form the numerator, and 36 (being all the chances on 2 dice) the denominator of the fraction that expresses the probability. If 5 is the main, 5 will be the only nick, and the chances to throw 5 being 4, {{frac|4|36}} is the probability, which is 8 to 1 against '''nicking''' 5, and the same against '''nicking''' 9.}}
##* {{RQ:Yeats Fairy and Folk Tales|title=The Jackdaw|page=304|passage=Tom Moor was fond of gaming, and often lost large sums of money; finding his business neglected in his absence, he had a small hazard table set up in one corner of his dining-room, and invited a party of his friends to play at it. [...] [O]ne of them being a constant winner, the others would say, "Damn it, how he '''nicks''' them." }}
# {{lb|en|transitive|mining}} To make a [[cut#Noun|cut]] at the [[side#Noun|side]] of the [[face#Noun|face]].
#* {{quote-journal|en|author=Peter Higson|chapter=[Mines. Reports of the Inspectors of Mines, to Her Majesty’s Secretary of State, for the Year 1871. Chapter 653.] Report of the Working of the Mines Inspection Act (23 & 24 Vict. c. 151.) in the West Lancashire and North Wales District, during the Year ended 31st December 1871.|journal=Reports from Commissioners: Twenty-two Volumes.{{nb...|(3.) Alkali Act; Factories; Mines; Salmon Fisheries (England and Wales); Fisheries (Ireland); Herring Fisheries (Scotland); Emigration. Session 6 February&nbsp;– 10 August 1872.}}|location=London|publisher=Printed by George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswode,{{nb...|printers to the Queens Most Excellent Majesty}}, for [[w:Office of Public Sector Information|Her Majesty’s Stationery Office]]|date=28 February 1872|volume=XVI|page=58|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhcTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA58|oclc=41427157|passage=A practice then prevailed of blasting without '''nicking''' the side of the place which still continues and of conducting the current of air too far by means of brattice, to both of which practices I raised a strong objection. They admitted their inability to make the men '''nick''' the coal as they formerly did and thought the application of brattice could not be properly defined, but that it should be left to the discretion of the manager of each particular mine as to the distance openings should be made apart between the intake and return air courses.}}
# {{lb|en|transitive|UK|Ireland|Commonwealth|slang}} To [[steal#Verb|steal]].
#: {{ux|en|Someone’s '''nicked''' my bike!}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Ian Botham; with Dean Wilson|chapter=[[w:Steve James (cricketer)|Steve James]] – Fine Dining|title=Beefy’s Cricket Tales: My Favourite Stories from On and Off the Field|location=London|publisher=w:Simon & Schuster|year=2013|pages=145–146|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=415fSGJJP9kC&pg=PA146|isbn=978-1-84983-801-6|passage=As I'm on the ground, my bat and one of the stumps are grabbed out of my hands. [...] At that point, I look up and see [[w:Adrian Dale|Adrian [Dale]]]&nbsp;– with two stumps in his hands! [[w:Hugh Morris (cricketer)|Hugh [Morris]]] has given him one and his brother Gary, who is a policeman, has seen the bloke who '''nicked''' it off me and wrestled it off him and given [it] to Adrian. He didn't get my bat back, though.}}
# {{lb|en|transitive|UK|Ireland|Commonwealth|law enforcement|slang}} To [[arrest#Verb|arrest]].
#: {{ux|en|The police '''nicked''' him climbing over the fence of the house he’d broken into.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=T. Appleby|chapter=Die in Dunkirk or Somewhere in France|title=Life in the Harsh Lane: The Nine Lives, Mishaps, and Adventures of a No-body|location=[Bloomington, Ind.]|publisher=w:Xlibris|year=2012|page=113|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=CaP5AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA113|isbn=978-1-4771-3032-2|passage=Flick knives were pulled on us, and the group demanded we give them all our money, and passports and everything else we had. [...] They [the police] had '''nicked''' the knife gang, (who had stayed there, beating the shit out of Nick), and found our passports.}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Russell Brand|chapter=I am an Anarchist-a|title=[[w:Revolution (book)|Revolution]]|location=New York, N.Y.|publisher=w:Ballantine Books|year=2014|page=81|pageurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=TV_2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81|isbn=978-1-101-88291-7|passage=[...] I was always getting '''nicked''' when I was a junkie, so I've had my fair share of skirmishes with the law.}}

=====Derived terms=====
* {{l|en|nick off}}
*{{l|en|nick up}}
* {{l|en|nicker}}
* {{l|en|nicking|pos=noun}}

=====Translations=====
{{trans-top|to make a nick or notch in}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|raapaista}}, {{t+|fi|naarmuttaa}}
* Maori: {{t|mi|pakini}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|надре́зать|pf}}, {{t+|ru|поре́зать|pf}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|(''cricket'') to hit the ball with the edge of a bat}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|näpäyttää}}, {{t|fi|näpätä}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|(''slang'') to steal}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|pölliä}}, {{t+|fi|nyysiä}}, {{t+|fi|vohkia}}
* French: {{t+|fr|piquer}}
* German: {{t+|de|klauen}}, {{t|de|mitgehen lassen}}, {{t+|de|klemmen}}, {{t+|de|krallen}}
* Mari:
*: Eastern Mari: {{t|mhr|авалткалаш}}
* Russian: {{t+|ru|ты́рить}}, {{t+|ru|спереть}}
* Swedish: {{t+|sv|norpa}}, {{t+|sv|knycka}}, {{t+|sv|sno}}
* Thai: {{t+|th|จิ๊ก}}
{{trans-bottom}}

{{trans-top|(''slang'') to arrest}}
* Finnish: {{t+|fi|napata}}
{{trans-bottom}}

===Etymology 2===
From {{m|en|nickname|nick(name)}}.

====Noun====
{{en-noun}}

# {{lb|en|Internet}} {{clipping of|en|nickname}}
#: {{ux|en|a user’s reserved '''nick''' on an IRC network}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=Donald Rose|title=Internet Chat Quick Tour: Real-time Conversations & Communications Online|location=Chapel Hill, N.C.|publisher=Ventana Press|year=1995|page=42|isbn=978-1-56604-223-9|passage=''/nick <new-nickname>'' Changes your nickname—the name by which other IRCers see and refer to you—to anything you'd like (but remember that nine characters is the maximum '''nick''' length).}}
#* {{quote-book|en|author=Josh Datko|chapter=Chatting Off-the-record|chapterurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=i2OZBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT204|title=BeagleBone for Secret Agents: Bbrowse Anonymously, Communicate Secretly, and Create Custom Security Solutions with Open Source Software, the BeagleBone Black, and Cryptographic Hardware|series= Community Experience Distilled|location=Birmingham, West Midlands|publisher=[[w:Packt|Packt Publishing]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1-78398-604-0|passage=Also, ERC, like Emacs, is extremely modular and flexible. It is, of course, a free software program, but there are also many existing modules from '''nick''' highlighting to autoaway that you can use.}}

====Verb====
{{en-verb}}

# {{lb|en|transitive|obsolete}} To [[give#Verb|give]] or [[call#Verb|call]] (someone) by a [[nickname#Verb|nickname]]; to [[style#Verb|style]].
#* {{quote-book|en|author=[[w:John Ford (dramatist)|[John Ford]]]|title=[[w:Perkin Warbeck (play)|The Chronicle Historie of Perkin Warbeck. A Strange Truth.{{nb...|Acted (some-times) by the Queenes Maiestie’s Servants at the Phenix in Drurie Lane.}}]]|location=London|publisher=Printed by [[w:Thomas Purfoot|T[homas] P[urfoot, Jr.]]] for Hugh Beeston,{{nb...|and are to be sold at his shop, neere the Castle in Corne-hill.}}|year=1634|oclc=81300826|title2=A Chronicle History of Perkin Warbeck. A Tragedy. A Strange Truth|location2=London|publisher2=Printed for J. Roberts,{{nb...|at the Oxford Arms in Warwick-Lane.}}|year2=1714|section2=act IV, scene i|page2=72|pageurl2=https://books.google.com/books?id=HG9ZAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA72|oclc2=15539609|passage=For ''Warbecke'' as you '''''nicke''''' him, came to me / Commended by the States of Chriſtendome.}}

===Etymology 3===
A variant of {{m|en|nix}} or {{m|en|nixie}}.

====Noun====
{{en-noun}}

# {{lb|en|archaic}} A [[nix]] or {{l|en|nixie||[[water#Noun|water]] [[spirit]]}}.
#* {{quote-book|en|author=w:Viktor Rydberg|translator=w:August Hjalmar Edgren|chapter=The Magic of the People and the Struggle of the Church against It|title=The Magic of the Middle Ages: Translated from the Swedish|location=New York, N.Y.|publisher=w:Henry Holt and Company|year=1879|page=201|pageurl=https://archive.org/details/magicofmiddleag00rydb/page/201/mode/1up|oclc=3814209|passage=[A]midst {{w|Ahriman}} and his hosts who had now established themselves in the Occident, and as heirs to the horns and tails of Pans and fauns, a crowd of native spirits moved; imps, giants, trolls, forest-spirits, elves and hobgoblins in and on the earth; '''nicks''', river-sprites in the water, fiends in the air, and salamanders in the fire.}}

===References===
<references />

===Further reading===
* {{pedia|nick (DNA)}}
* {{pedia|nick (disambiguation)}}

===Anagrams===
* {{anagrams|en|a=cikn|CKIN}}

==German==

===Pronunciation===
* {{IPA|de|/nɪk/}}
* {{audio|de|De-nick.ogg}}
* {{rhymes|de|ɪk|s=1}}

===Verb===
{{head|de|verb form}}

# {{verb form of|de|nicken||s|imp}}
# {{lb|de|colloquial}} {{verb form of|de|nicken||1|s|pres}}

==Kashubian==

===Etymology===
From {{af|csb|nic|-k}}.

===Pronunciation===
{{csb-pr}}

===Pronoun===
{{head|csb|pronoun}}

# {{syn of|csb|nic}}

===Further reading===
* {{R:csb:SPK|nic}}
* {{R:csb:ISKJ|+|6113}}

==Polish==
{{wp|lang=pl}}

===Etymology===
{{ubor|pl|en|nick|nick(name)}}.

===Pronunciation===
{{pl-pr|nik|a=Pl-nick.ogg|h=nick}}

===Noun===
{{pl-noun|m-in}}

# {{lb|pl|Internet}} [[nickname]] {{gl|familiar, invented given name}}

====Declension====
{{pl-decl-noun-m-in|gens=nicka}}

===Further reading===
* {{R:pl:WSJP}}
* {{R:pl:PWN}}

{{C|pl|Onomastics}}

==Portuguese==

===Etymology===
{{ubor|pt|en|nick}}.

===Pronunciation===
{{pt-IPA|nique}}

===Noun===
{{pt-noun|m|#s}}

# {{lb|pt|Internet|video games}} {{l|en|nick}}; [[nickname]]
#: {{syn|pt|apelido}}
#* {{quote-book|pt|title=Internautas: os chips reinventando o nosso dia a dia|passage=Meu '''nick''' é Ícaro. '''Nick''' igual ao meu nome de verdade. Não invento apelidos na web, acho nada a ver ficar se escondendo atrás de outros nomes que não sejam o meu mesmo.|year=2013|author=Caio Riter|compiler=Luiz Antonio Aguiar|page=19|isbn=9788506071199|pageurl=https://www.google.com.br/books/edition/Internautas/iybfMaxvARgC?hl=pt-BR&gbpv=1&pg=PT19&printsec=frontcover|chapter=voodeicaro.blogspot.com|chapter_number=3|publisher=Melhoramentos|location=São Paulo|t=My '''nick''' is Ícaro. A '''nick''' just like my real name. I don't make up nickames on the Web, I find it nonsensical to hide behind other names that aren't my own.}}

==Swedish==

===Pronunciation===
* {{audio|sv|Sv-nick.ogg}}

===Etymology 1===
{{deverbal|sv|nicka}}.

====Noun====
{{sv-noun|c}}

# [[nod]] (''movement of the head to indicate agreement'')
# [[header]] (''in football'')

=====Declension=====
{{sv-infl-noun-c-ar}}

=====Synonyms=====
* {{sense|header}}: {{l|sv|nickning|g=c}}
* {{sense|nod}}: {{l|sv|nickning|g=c}}

=====Derived terms=====
{{der3|sv
|bakåtnick
|nickduell
|nickedocka
|nickmål
|nickpassa
|nickskarv
|nickskarva
|nickspecialist
|språngnick
}}

=====Related terms=====
* {{l|sv|nicka}}
* {{l|sv|nicka till}}

===Etymology 2===
{{der+|sv|en|nickname}}.

====Noun====
{{sv-noun|n}}

# {{lb|sv|slang}} {{l|en|nick}}, [[nickname]]

=====Declension=====
{{sv-infl-noun-n-zero}}

===Further reading===
* {{R:svenska.se}}