nithings

Noun

nithing (plural nithings)

1. (archaic) A coward, a dastard; a wretch.
   • [W]hen there was a daungerous rebellion againſt King William Rufus and Rocheſter Caſtle then the moſt important & ſtrongeſt fort of this Realm was ſtowtly kept againſt him, after that he had but proclaimed that his ſubjects ſhould repaire thither to his Campe, vpon no other penaltie, but that...1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “The Languages”, in Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, →OCLC, page 30

   Synonyms:

   nidering, niddering, bottler, caitiff, candy-ass, candy-arse, coistril, coward, chicken, chicken liver

2. (archaic) A wicked person; also, one who has acted immorally or unlawfully.
   • And for the moment, though he [Sweyn II of Denmark] escaped as usual to Baldwin [V, Count of Flanders]'s land and dwelt at Bruges, he was solemnly proclaimed a nithing or vile person (the most ignominious term in the Teutonic vocabulary) by the whole host, with the king, his brother-in-law, at...1906, Thomas Hodgkin, “Edward the Confessor. (1042–1066.)”, in The History of England: From the Earliest Times to the Norman Conquest, London; New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC...

   Synonyms:

   antimodel, bad guy, baddie, bastard, beggar, blackguard, bounder, cad, cockatrice, coistril

See all 4 meanings of nithing