Dictionary

nidus en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈnaɪdəs/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-? Proto-Indo-European *ní Proto-Indo-European *sed- Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *nisdós Proto-Italic *nizdos Latin nīdusbor. English nidus Borrowed from Latin nīdus (“nest”). Doublet of nye and nest.

Meanings

1. An aggregate of neurons.
2. A nest for insects or small animals.
3. A place of infection in an organism.
4. An origin (originating point) for a phenomenon.
5. A home or place to stay.
   • Certain seeds which are required to find a nidus for themselves under unfavourable circumstances have been supplied by nature with an apparatus of hooks, so that they will get a hold on very unreceptive surfaces. 1860, George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss:

Forms

Relateds

nidation · nido- · nidal · nidifugous (and see) · nidulate · annidation · pilonidal · nidify · nidificate