Nick — Defs

01 n. An evil spirit of the waters.

Phrases & compounds

Old Nick — the evil one; the devil.

02 n. A notch cut into something

1.
A notch cut into something(Print.) [Obs.]
2.
A broken or indented place in any edge or surface; as, nicks in a china plate; a nick in the table top.
3.
A particular point or place considered as marked by a nick; the exact point or critical moment.
“To cut it off in the very nick.” — Howell.

“This nick of time is the critical occasion for the gaining of a point.” — L'Estrange.

03 v. t. To make a nick or nicks in; to notch; to keep count of or upon by nicks; as, to nick a stick, tally, etc.

imp. & p. p. Nicked; p. pr. & vb. n. Nicking

1.
To make a nick or nicks in; to notch; to keep count of or upon by nicks; as, to nick a stick, tally, etc.
2.
To mar; to deface; to make ragged, as by cutting nicks or notches in; to create a nick{2} in, deliberately or accidentally; as, to nick the rim of a teacup.
“And thence proceed to nicking sashes.” — Prior.

“The itch of his affection should not then Have nicked his captainship.” — Shak.
3.
To suit or fit into, as by a correspondence of nicks; to tally with.
“Words nicking and resembling one another are applicable to different significations.” — Camden.
4.
To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at the precise point or time.
“The just season of doing things must be nicked, and all accidents improved.” — L'Estrange.
5.
To make a cross cut or cuts on the under side of (the tail of a horse, in order to make him carry it higher).

04 v. t. To nickname; to style.

1.
To nickname; to style.[Obs.]
“For Warbeck, as you nick him, came to me.” — Ford.