niddering
Americannoun
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of niddering
First recorded in 1590–1600; variant of nidering, which is a variant of niding, from nithing, from Old Norse nídhingr “villain, scoundrel, apostate.” The form niddering arose from a misreading of the letter ð (pronounced eth or edh, representing the th- sounds of thin and then ) as an abbreviation for der
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.
I am a Saxon, Jarl Hakon, and niddering would I be to sing of my country’s shame.
From A Maid at King Alfred?s Court by Madison, Lucy Foster
Should we be vile and niddering enough to gain no honour on the field, very surely we shall receive yet more shame as our portion when we come into his presence.
From Arthurian Chronicles: Roman de Brut by Mason, Eugene
"Take shield," he said, "and, Earl, on thine own head be thy blood, for none shall live to call Eric niddering and coward."
From Eric Brighteyes by Haggard, Henry Rider
Let every man that is not niddering, whether in a town or out of a town, leave his house and come.”
From A Maid at King Alfred?s Court by Madison, Lucy Foster
Thou hast called me pestilent, niddering, And weakling: yet I boast me better far Than thou in wit and speech, which things increase The strength of men.
From The Fall of Troy by Way, Arthur Sanders
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.
