nib
[nib]
- the point of a pen, or either of its divisions.
- a penpoint for insertion into a penholder.
- a point of anything: a cutting tool with a diamond nib.
- a bill or beak, as of a bird; neb.
- any pointed extremity.
- Metallurgy.
- a piece of sintered tungsten carbide used as a die for drawing wire or the like.
- (in powder metallurgy) a compact at any stage of its manufacture.
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Origin of nib
nibs
[nibz]
- his/her nibs, Informal: Often Facetious. a person in authority, especially one who is demanding and tyrannical: His nibs wants fresh strawberries in December.
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Origin of nibs
First recorded in 1815–25; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
stick, marker, snout, hue, tint, tone, coloration, vestige, relic, speck, particle, whiff, fragment, smell, hint, element, strain, touch, remnant, shredExamples from the Web for nib
Contemporary Examples
When the cocoa beans are roasted, their shells crack to expose the nib, which is then ground into a thick paste.
Historical Examples
That should teach him to get rid of the nasty habit of sucking the nib.
I've always looked up to you as a bit of a nib and wished I was like you.
Jill the RecklessP. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
It might not be safe to kill him; but it would be safe enough to kill Nib.
That Lass O' Lowrie'sFrances Hodgson Burnett
They wrangled together for a few minutes, and then Nib was handed over.
That Lass O' Lowrie'sFrances Hodgson Burnett
For finer writing the pen should be cut with a longer slope in the nib.
Lessons in the Art of IlluminatingW. J. Loftie
nib
- the writing point of a pen, esp an insertable tapered metal part with a split tip
- a point, tip, or beak
- (plural) crushed cocoa beans
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- to provide with a nib
- to prepare or sharpen the nib of
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Word Origin
C16 (in the sense: beak): origin obscure; compare Northern German nibbe tip. See neb, nibble
nibs
- his nibs (functioning as singular) slang a mock title used of someone in authority
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Word Origin
C19: of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for nib
n.
1580s, "beak or bill of a bird," Scottish variant of Old English neb (see neb). Meaning "point" (of a pen or quill) first recorded 1610s.
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nibs
n.
especially in His Nibs "boss, employer, self-important person," 1821, of unknown origin; perhaps a variant of nob "person of high position."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
nib
(nĭb)- The smooth or serrated portion of a dental instrument that comes into contact with restorative material being condensed.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.