nicker
1 Americannoun
verb
-
(of a horse) to neigh softly
-
to laugh quietly; snigger
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nicker1
First recorded in 1660–70; nick + -er 1
Origin of nicker2
First recorded in 1785–95; apparently variant of nicher, neigher, frequentative of neigh; see -er 6
Origin of nicker3
First recorded in 1875–80; perhaps special use of nicker 1
Explanation
Horses don't just whinny and neigh — they also nicker. The horse you've been visiting with carrots every afternoon might nicker softly when she sees you coming. The word nicker comes from Scottish and North England dialect. Horse experts will tell you that while a neigh is usually louder, often a call to people or other horses, a nicker is a softer sound, more of a vibration of the vocal cords. Mares nicker gently at their new foals, and many horses nicker at their favorite humans.
Vocabulary lists containing nicker
Orbiting Jupiter
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Milkweed
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War Horse
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He was standing in the back of his stall, but when he heard my voice, he gave a low nicker and walked to the front.
From Washington Post • Jun. 5, 2012
Reagan waited nearly four hours for a nicker of flexibility, any tiny gesture of accommodation.
From Time Magazine Archive
Early last week there was a nicker of progress.
From Time Magazine Archive
I gave them the motion picture . . . and millions of minds were . . . trivialized and anesthetized by that endless nicker of ... venality.
From Time Magazine Archive
Siren nickered again, and I seemed to hear the answering nicker of another horse, far off.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
