nicker
1 Americannoun
verb
-
(of a horse) to neigh softly
-
to laugh quietly; snigger
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected 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
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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.
See Examples For:
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
Confirmed Wodehousians hoot, holler, writhe, snort, bellow, nicker, and in culminating transports, belch.
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
Into one of the dimmest corners of the cavernous Wagner Act the Supreme Court last week cast a small nicker of light.
From Time Magazine Archive
Instantly, Carmen felt calmer as she breathed in the smell of hay and horses and heard the loud nicker of hello from Rosie.
From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis
My favorite patrol partner, a caramel dun named Cobbo, nickers in greeting.
From New York Times ● Aug. 29, 2015
Try not to make things worse but don't get your nickers in a twist about it.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2010
He wickedly nickers his tongue to show malice.
From Time Magazine Archive
Swifter than that of 1929, it has more jigs, zigzags, nickers, turns and quarter-turns.
From Time Magazine Archive
Beowulf was his name, a man of immense strength and courage, and a mighty swimmer who had developed his powers fighting the "nickers," whales, walruses and seals, in the icebound northern ocean.
From English Literature Its History and Its Significance for the Life of the English Speaking World by William Joseph Long
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
