Nib

Nib
Nib Nib (n[i^]b), n. [A variabt of neb.] 1. A small and pointed thing or part; a point; a prong. ``The little nib or fructifying principle.'' --Sir T. Browne. [1913 Webster]

2. (Zo["o]l.) The bill or beak of a bird; the neb. [1913 Webster]

3. The points of a pen; also, the pointed part of a pen; a short pen adapted for insertion in a holder. [1913 Webster]

4. One of the handles which project from a scythe snath; also, [Prov. Eng.], the shaft of a wagon. [1913 Webster]

5. pl. See {his nibs}, below. [PJC]

{his nibs} Someone who gives a command or makes a demand, often one who acts in a self-important manner, sometimes one with authority; -- used mockingly as a jocose term, as if a title of honor, but not usually in the presence of the person referred to, and usually indicating resentment or contempt. [Colloq.] [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Synonyms:
, , / (of a pen)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • nib — nib …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • nib — [ nib ] adv. • 1847; abrév. de nibergue (1800), pour niberque, de bernique ♦ Arg. vieilli Rien. J y comprends que nib, nib de nib. Bon à nib : bon à rien. nib nibar ou nibard [ nibar ] n. m. • v. 1950; de nichon et suff. argotique …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • NIB — or nib may refer to: N.I.B., a song by Black Sabbath Neodymium magnet or NIB, a powerful magnet made from neodymium, iron, and boron Nib, a type of variable in PBASIC which stores Nibble values in the range of 0 to 15 Nib, partially processed… …   Wikipedia

  • Nib — Nib, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Nebbed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Nibbing}.] To furnish with a nib; to point; to mend the point of; as, to nib a pen. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nib — [nıb] n ↑cap, ↑nib [Date: 1500 1600; Origin: Probably from neb beak (11 19 centuries), from Old English nebb] 1.) the pointed metal part at the end of a pen 2.) his/her nibs old fashioned informal someone in authority or someone who thinks they… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • nib — [ nıb ] noun count the pointed end of a pen that you write with …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • nib — ► NOUN 1) the pointed end part of a pen, which distributes the ink. 2) (nibs) shelled and crushed coffee or cocoa beans. ORIGIN originally in the sense «beak, nose»: probably from Dutch nib or Low German nibbe, related to NEB(Cf. ↑N) …   English terms dictionary

  • nib — [nib] n. [var. of NEB] 1. the bill or beak of a bird 2. a) Historical the split and sharpened end of a quill pen b) the point of a pen 3. the projecting end of anything; point vt …   English World dictionary

  • NIB — Siglas de National Institute for the Blind. Diccionario Mosby Medicina, Enfermería y Ciencias de la Salud, Ediciones Hancourt, S.A. 1999 …   Diccionario médico

  • nib — (n.) 1580s, beak or bill of a bird, Scottish variant of O.E. neb (see NEB (Cf. neb)). Meaning point (of a pen or quill) first recorded 1610s …   Etymology dictionary

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