niddering en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈnɪdɹɪŋ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈnɪdəɹɪŋ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
A variant of nithing, resulting from the letter eth (ð) in Early Middle English niðing in the writings of the English historian William of Malmesbury (c. 1095 – c. 1143) being mistaken for a d followed by a mark of suspension representing a letter that had been omitted as an abbreviation. This led to niðing being wrongly spelled as nidering in early printed versions of his works. The word was later popularized by the Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832).
Meanings
-
(archaic) Synonym of nithing (“cowardly, dastardly; notoriously evil or wicked; infamous”).
Though thou art my son, I say this, that, if thou workest ill to Eric when he is over sea, thou shalt rightly learn the weight of Whitefire: it is a niddering deed to plot against an absent man.
1891, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “How Eric was Outlawed and Sailed A-viking”, in Eric Brighteyes, 2nd edition, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 121:I require of thee, as a man of thy word, on pain of being held faithless, man-sworn, and nidering [footnote: Infamous], to forgive and to receive to thy paternal affection the good knight, Wilfrid of Ivanhoe.
1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter XII, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 302:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| nidering | alternative | lexicographic | |
| more niddering | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most niddering | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Synonyms
nithing · nithing · notorious · nidering · nidering · nefarious · niddering · ill-famed · nithing · infamous · ill-famed · disreputable