Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

 About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ
Dec 6, 2013
This week's theme
Illustrated words

This week's words
felicitous
disprize
ineluctable
malinger
nimiety

nimiety
Illustration: Leah Palmer Preiss
Bookmark and Share Facebook Twitter Digg MySpace Bookmark and Share
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

nimiety

PRONUNCIATION:
(ni-MY-i-tee)

MEANING:
noun: Excess or redundancy.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin nimius (too much). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ne (not), which also gave us nil, null, not, never, nothing, nihilism, annihilate, and naughty. Earliest documented use: 1542.

USAGE:
"As he said it, a nimiety of memories came back to him of the sick, the wounded, the dying: disease, war, famine, flood, fire, devastation."
Chelsea Quinn Yarbro; A Feast in Exile; Tor; 2001.

See more usage examples of nimiety in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. -Nelson Mandela, activist, South African president, Nobel Peace Prize (1918-2013)

What they say

“Anu Garg triggers the kind of passionate reaction that actors, authors and memoirists would die for.”
Read more

USA Today

More articles

Anu Garg on words

“Each word comes with a biography. These words have fascinating stories to tell, if only we take the time to listen.”

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2025 Wordsmith