nisus

American  

[nahy-suhs] / ˈnaɪ səs /

noun

plural

nisus

1. an effort or striving toward a particular goal or attainment; impulse.

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nisus British  

/ ˈnaɪsəs /

noun

1. an impulse towards or striving after a goal

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Etymology

Origin of nisus

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin nīsus “planting one’s feet firmly, strong muscular effort,” equivalent to nīt(ī) “to support or exert oneself” + -sus, variant of -tus suffix denoting the action of the verb

Example Sentences

Sometimes the nisus or volition expends itself in the will, and gives no external phenomena.

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip

But then again we might seek to explain why this nisus is always made in the direction of the rational.

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip

We cannot penetrate these second causes—we observe only their phenomena; but we know ourselves in the very first nisus of causation.

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip

In God it is infinite, eternal, uncreated power; and every nisus in his will is really creative or modifying, according to its self-directed aim.

From A Review of Edwards's by Tappan, Henry Philip

There remains one obscure point in any event, and that is, the nature of what the ancients called the nisus formativus.

From Essay on the Creative Imagination by Baron, Albert Heyem Nachmen