nidus

American  

[nahy-duhs] / ˈnaɪ dəs /

noun

• nidi
  plural

1. a nest, especially one in which insects, spiders, etc., deposit their eggs.

2. a place or point in an organism where a germ or other organism can develop or breed.

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nidus British  

/ ˈnaɪdəs /

noun

1. the nest in which insects or spiders deposit their eggs

2. pathol a focus of infection

3. a cavity in which plant spores develop

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nidal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nidi
  plural

Etymology

Origin of nidus

1735–45; < Latin nīdus nest

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nidus nidi

Among them, occasionally, an underlying structural abnormality in the brain can be the nidus for electrical disarray.

From New York Times ● Sep. 25, 2019

The S.D.P., however, had the advantage of being able to coalesce around the nidus of a small, old, still breathing third party, the Liberals.

From Time Magazine Archive

But surely there was a germ of evil in the thing, and this germ found a nidus, found a nest in Gehazi's soul, in which to hatch its evil brood.

From Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known Characters by George Milligan

Here I observed Tupistra, Asplenium nidus, at 200 feet above the bed of a nullah. 

From Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries by William Griffith

I have also found the little depressions caused by the tread of cattle affording a fine nidus for the plants.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 385, May 19, 1883 by Various

These appearances consisted of long tubes passing nearly perpendicularly through the clay and terminating in receptacles or nidi, each tube leading to a separate receptacle.

From Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society - Vol. 3 Zoology by Various

We could fill a page with marvellous shots quos nidi et quorum pars, etc.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 24, October, 1859 by Various