Etymograph

English

nihility

Nihility comes from Renaissance Latin nihilitās ‘nothingness, nonexistence’, and goes back to Latin hīlum ‘the least bit’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhīlum1‘the least bit’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnihil2‘nothing’
  3. Renaissance Latinc. 1300–1500nihilitās2‘nothingness, nonexistence’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1788nihility2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin nihil
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English nihility
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1788, Hester Thrale Piozzi: “Della Crusca says all past Actions are Nihilities; &…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhīlumWiktionary, Latin nihil‘the least bit’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnihilWiktionary, English nihility‘nothing’
  3. Renaissance Latinc. 1300–1500nihilitāsWiktionary, English nihility‘nothingness, nonexistence’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1788nihilityWiktionary, English nihility. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1788, Hester Thrale Piozzi: “Della Crusca says all past Actions are Nihilities; &…”

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *fī(s)lom

defile, filamentous, 43 more

through Latin fīlum ‘thread’

file, filament, fillet, 46 more

through Latin nihil ‘nothing’

annihilation, annihilate, 7 more

Today it means

noun The state or fact of being nothing; nothingness, nullity; nonexistence.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nihility”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin nihil. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin hīlum / nihility

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