Nigh

Definition: Nigh

Nigh

Adjective

1. Being on the left side; "the near or nigh horse is the one on the left"; "the animal's left side is its near or nigh side".

2. Near in space or time.

Adverb

1. Near in time or place or relationship; "as the wedding day drew near"; "stood near the door"; "don't shoot until they come near"; "getting near to the true explanation"; "her mother is always near"; "The end draws nigh"; "the bullet didn't come close"; "don't get too close to the fire".

2. (of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; "the job is (just) about done"; "the baby was almost asleep when the alarm sounded"; "we're almost finished"; "the car all but ran her down"; "he nearly fainted"; "talked for nigh onto 2 hours"; "the recording is well-nigh perfect"; "virtually all the parties signed the contract"; (`near' is used informally for `nearly' as in "I was near exhausted by the run"; `most' is used informally for `almost' as in "most everybody agrees").

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "nigh" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Note: Nigh \Nigh\, adjective. [Comparative Nigher; superlative Nighest, or Next.]. (references)

Synonyms: Nigh

Nearness

Adverb: near, nigh; hard by, fast by; close to, close upon; hard upon; at the point of; next door to; within reach, within call,

Adjective: near, nigh; close at hand, near at hand; close, neighboring; bordering upon, contiguous, adjacent, adjoining; proximate, proximal; at hand, handy; near the mark, near run; home, intimate.

Crosswords: Nigh

Irish (wash), Scottish (cleanse, purify, wash).

Your situation is purty nigh hopeless (O Brother, Where Art Thou?; writing credit: Ethan Coen)

Two Spirits In The Nigh (When The Night Comes; performing artist: Joe Cocker)

There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago ("The Battle of New Orleans"; performing artist: Johnny Horton)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• Countdown!, or, How nigh is the end? (reference)

• Draw Nigh (reference)

• Ever Yours Florence Nigh (reference)

• Servers of the Divine Plan: The Destiny of Ages Is Nigh (reference)

• The Coming of the Lord Draweth Nigh (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• A Taste of Jazz-Late Nigh [IMPORT] (reference)

• Worshippers Come Nigh (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Tenant farmer near Thomaston, Georgia, speaking of the drought: "The crop is nigh to nothin' as I ever see". Credit: Library of Congress.

Thomaston (vicinity), Georgia. A Georgia tenant farmer who says, "THis crop (1936) is nigh to nothin' as I ever see". Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "nigh": near or nigh ♦ nigh but ♦ to come nigh ♦ well nigh. Additional references.

Beginning with "nigh": nigh-on.

Ending with "nigh": Well-nigh.

Containing "nigh": well-nigh impossible.

Albanian

pranë (about, alongside, alongside of, beside, by, hard by, near, near at hand, nearby, next, next to, over, past, thereby), më i afërt (surrounding), i afërt (adjacent, close, cognate, connate, connected, contiguous, homogeneous, imminent, impendent, impending, intimate, near, neighboring, neighbouring, next door, proximate, thick), afroj (approach, bring close together, bring near to, close up), afrohem (advance, approach, approximate, border on, close in, close on, come close, come closer, come on, draw near, gain on, impend, make up, near, verge), afër (about, at, at hand, beside, by, close, close to, hard by, near, near to, nearby, next to). (various references)

Arabic 

‏قريبا (anon, before long, by and by, in a short time, in the near future, quickly, shortly, soon), ‏قريب (adjacent, akin, approaching, close, cognate, connection, connexion, contiguous, impending, kin, kinsman, near, nearby, nearer, next of kin, on familiar terms, propinquity, related, relational, relative, thereabout, thereabouts), ‏على مقربة (about, close to, near, proximate). (various references)

Bulgarian 

наблизо (around, by, close, hard, hereabout, in the offing, near, near by, within easy reach), едва ли не (almost), близък (adjacent, akin, allied to, chummy, close, familiar, impendent, kindred, near, neighboring, neighbouring, next, pally, pressing, prospective, sister, solid, sympathetic, thick, toward), близо до (alongside, by, near, nearby, next), близо (abaft, by, close), почти (about, almost, approximately, half, like, near, nearly, next to, on, practically, say, something like, virtually, well nigh). (various references)

Czech

blízko (by, close, close at hand, hard by, near, next to). (various references)

Farsi 

مجاور (Adjacent, Against, Contiguous, Neighbor, Next), نزدیک شدن (Accede, Approach, Near, Verge), نزدیک (About, Adjacent, At, Beside, Besides, By, Close, Contiguous, Hailfellow, In, Near, Neighbor, Proximate, Upcoming), قریب (About, Near), تقریبا (About, Almost, Much, Near, Some). (various references)

French

voisin, proche, près de, près, auprès de, à proximité. (various references)

German

nahe (about, close, contiguous, kinship, near, nearby, next). (various references)

Greek 

σχεδόν (all but, almost, as good as, close on, just about, near, nearly, practically, thereabout, thereabouts, virtually, well nigh), στενόσ (close, narrow, near, parochial), πλησίον (about, beside, by, close, near, nearby, nearly, toward, towards). (various references)

Hebrew 

קרוב (approximation, at hand, bringing near, close, drawing near, near, nearness, next, proximity). (various references)

Hungarian

közel (around, by, by near, close to, near, near by, nearly, next door to, toward, towards, up). (various references)

Indonesian

dekat (at, by, close, imminent, near, nearby). (various references)

Italian

vicino (about, adjacent, by, close, convenient, early, forthcoming, handy, near, near by, nearby, neighbor, neighboring, neighbour, neighbouring, next), quasi (about, all but, almost, halfway, hardly, nearly, practically, scarcely, very nearly), accanto (alongside, beside, near, near by, nearby, next, next to, past). (various references)

Manx

Hioll mee (I had well nigh), dobbyr dou (I had well nigh). (various references)

Pig Latin

ighnay.(various references)

Portuguese

quase (about, all but, almost, approximately, half, half-way, just, just about, much, near, nearly, next to, quasi, well-nigh), perto (aboard, about, anigh, by, close, hard, hereby, near, nearby, next-door, on), junto a (about, along, at, beside, by, near, on). (various references)

Romanian

cât pe ce (close, just about, near, nearly), aproape (about, afar, all but, almost, anigh, approximately, as good as, at one's elbow, at the point of, close, close by, close upon, far, far away, hard, immediately, just about, little or nothing, near, near by, nearby, nearly, neighbor, neighbour, remotely, some, soon, thereabouts). (various references)

Russian 

рядом (adjacently, alongside, at one's elbow, cheek by jowl, interproximally, near by, nearby, next door, round the corner, side by side, side-by-side), близко (by, close, close by, close call, closely, hard by, near, near at hand, near by, nearby, nr near), близкий (agnate, allied, close, consanguineous, contiguous, crony, familiar, imminent, near, nearby, near-by), ближний (fellow creature, hither, near), приближаться (approach, approached, approximate, aproached, converge, draw near, near, verge), поблизости (close up, hereabout, hereabouts, near, thereabout, thereabouts, within call), подходить (befit, fit, near, rise, suits). (various references)

Scottish

dlùth (close, close; confined, the warp of a web, tight, warp of a web). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

blizak (close, imminent, impendent, near), blisko (close). (various references)

Spanish

cercano (close, evident, handy, near, near by, nearby, neighboring, neighbouring), cerca de (about, against, approximately, around, at, beside, by, close to, near, near to, nearby, next to), cerca (aboard, about, around, by, close, fence, near, nearby, short), casi (about, all but, almost, near, nearly, next, next door, next to, quasi). (various references)

Swedish

nästan (about, all but, almost, kind of, much, nearly), nära (at hand, cherish, close, close to, closely, entertain, impolite, intimate, near, nearly, off, proximate, up-close). (various references)

Thai

ใกล้มาถึง. (various references)

Turkish

yakın (adjacent, akin, akin to, approximate, at hand, by, close, close to, close-rage, connate, connected, connection, connexion, contiguous, convenient, familiar, handy, hard, hard by, immediate, imminent, inseparable, intimate, near, near at hand, not far, pending, proximate, relative, thick, within reach, within walking distance), hemen hemen (about, all but, almost, at close quarters, barely, much, near, nearly, next door to, next to, practically, pretty much, proximate, scarcely, well nigh), aşağı yukarı (about, approximately, approximative, around, circa, close on, in the neighborhood of, in the neighbourhood of, in the rough, just about, more or less, pretty much, rough, roughly, roundly, some, something like, sub-, thereabout, to and fro, tolerably). (various references)

Ukrainian

скупий (chary, cheeseparing, churlish, clam, close-fisted, covetous, gripping, grudging, hard-fisted, illiberal, mean-spirited, mingy, miserly, narrow, near, parsimonious, penny-pinching, saving, scant, screwy, scrimpy, skimpy, snippy, split-farthing, stingy, tight-fisted), короткий шлях, наближатися (approach, appropinquate, approximate, be anear, come near, draw, near, verge, wear), майже (about, all but, almost, anear, approximately, as good as, but, half, hard upon, just about, much, near, nearby, nearly, next door to, next to, nighly, practically, quasi, quite, well nigh, within), близько (about, anigh, around, at close range, bain, close, closely, familiarly, hard upon, near, near at hand, nearly, short, something like, somewhere, thereabout, thereabouts), близький (agnate, akin, allied, approximate, congenial, contiguous, familiar, intimate, near, nearby, neighbor, neighbour), підходити (approach, become, befall, befit, beseem, come up to, draw on, like, near, pertain, satisfy), прямий шлях (highway), поруч (abreast, adjacently, against, alongside, anear, by, close, hard by, side by side, unto), поблизу (about, alongside, anear, anigh, around, aside, beside, by, hereabout, hereabouts, hereby, near, nearby, thereabout, thereabouts, thereby). (various references)

Welsh

agos (almost, approximate, near). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words beginning with "nigh": nighed, nigher, nighest, nighing, nighness, nighnesses, nighs, night, nightcap, nightcaps, nightclothes, nightclub, nightclubbed, nightclubber, nightclubbers, nightclubbing, nightclubs, nightdress, nightdresses, nightfall, nightfalls, nightglow, nightglows, nightgown, nightgowns, nighthawk, nighthawks, nightie, nighties, nightingale, nightingales, nightjar, nightjars, nightless, nightlife, nightlifes, nightlong, nightly, nightmare, nightmares, nightmarish, nightmarishly, nights, nightscope, nightscopes, nightshade, nightshades, nightshirt, nightshirts, nightside, nightsides. (additional references)

Words containing "nigh": beknight, beknighted, beknighting, beknights, benighted, benightedly, benightedness, benightednesses, fortnight, fortnightlies, fortnightly, fortnights, knight, knighted, knighthood, knighthoods, knighting, knightliness, knightlinesses, knightly, knights, midnight, midnightly, midnights, overnight, overnighted, overnighter, overnighters, overnighting, overnights, postmidnight, sennight, sennights, tonight, tonights, twinight, weeknight, weeknights, yesternight, yesternights. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Nigh" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Anagh, Annagh, digh, Engh, igh, ingga, inth, nagh, Nagm, Nahh, naig, naih, naith, namh, naoh, Neagu, neah, neg, negh, Neghme, negi, Negm, nego, neh, neph, ng, Ngah, Nghe, Nghi, Nghon, ngi, niag, Nich, Nidhi, nieh, nif, niga, Nigah, nige, nigg, Nigga, Nighy, nign, nigs, nih, nihl, nij, Nijgh, nimh, ninh, nioh, nish, Nith, nough, npg, Nugw, nuh, Nyagah, Nyageh, Nyah, pigh. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: ghi, gin, hin.

-2 letters: hi, in.

+1 letter: hinge, hying, neigh, nighs, night, ohing, thing.

+2 letters: aahing, aching, ashing, dinghy, eching, grinch, hading, haeing, haling, haring, hating, having, hawing, haying, hazing, hewing, hexing, hiding, hieing, hiking, hinged, hinger, hinges, hiring, hiving, hoeing, hoking, holing, homing, honing, hoping, hosing, hyping, knight, neighs, nighed, nigher, nights, nighty, oohing, shying, things, whinge.

+3 letters: afghani, anguish, anhinga, arching, baching, bashing, bathing, bighorn, bushing, caching, cashing, chafing, chagrin, charing, chasing, chawing, chewing, chiding, chignon, chiming, chining, choking, choring, chowing, chuting, coshing, dashing, dishing, echoing, english, etching, fashing, fishing, gahnite, garnish, gashing, gherkin, gingham, gnathic, gnocchi, gnomish, gunship, gushing, hacking, hafting, hagging, hailing, haloing, halting, halving, hamming, handing, hanging, hanking, hanting, happing, harking, harming, harping, hashing, hasping, hasting, hatting, hauling, hawking, hayings, hazings, heading, healing, heaping, hearing, heating, heaving, hedging, heeding, heeling, heezing, hefting, heiling, heiring, helling, helming, helping, helving, hemming, henting, herding, herring, hidings, hilding, hilling, hilting, hindgut, hingers, hinging, hinting, hipping, hissing, histing, hitting, hoaxing, hobbing, hoboing, hocking, hogging, hoising, holding, holking, honking, hooding, hoofing, hooking, hooping, hooting, hopping, hording, horning, horsing, hosting, hotting, housing, howking, howling, huffing, hugging, hulking, hulling, humming, humping, hunting, hurling, hurting, hushing, husking, hutting, hygiene, hymning, hypoing, inching, infight, insight, inveigh, itching, joshing, kithing, knights, kything, lashing, lathing, leching, lighten, longish, lushing, mashing, meshing, miching, moshing, mushing, neighed, niching, nighest, nighing, nightie, nightly, nilghai, nilghau, noshing, nothing, nylghai, ochring, ouching, pashing, peching, phasing, phoning, pishing, pithing, poohing, pushing, rehinge, rhyming, ruching, rushing, sashing, shading, shaking, shaming, shaping, sharing, shaving, shawing, shewing, shindig, shingle, shingly, shining, shoeing, shooing, shoring, shoving, showing, shuting, sighing, sughing, thawing, theming, tholing, thouing, tighten, tithing, tonight, tushing, tything, unhinge, unsight, washing, whaling, whiling, whinged, whinges, whining, whiting, whoring, wishing, withing.