nidus

[ nahy-duh s ]

/ ˈnaɪ dəs /

noun, plural ni·di [nahy-dahy] /ˈnaɪ daɪ/.

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

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

Nearby words

nidicolous, nidificate, nidification, nidifugous, nidify, nidus, nidus avis, nidwalden, niebuhr, niebuhr, barthold georg, niebuhr, reinhold

Origin of nidus

1735–45; < Latin nīdus nest

Related formsni·dal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nidus

These flies are continually prowling about and prying into every corner, to find, by stealth, a nidus for their eggs.
Insect Architecture|James Rennie
Beyond the Kirghisians lodged a nidus of Bucharians, wild as the asses of Numidia.
With the World's Great Travellers, Volume IV|Various
They seem to be flying about in the air with other germs, and have found a sort of nidus among my melancholy fancies.
Impressions of Theophrastus Such|George Eliot
What would there be in his system which could furnish a nidus for its reception?
Vegetable Diet: As Sanctioned by Medical Men, and by Experience in All Ages|William Andrus Alcott

It has indeed been much more than Shelley seems to have realized, the nidus of a love pure and wholesome, if not very passionate.
Shelley and the Marriage Question|John Todhunter

British Dictionary definitions for nidus

nidus

/ (ˈnaɪdəs) /

noun plural -di (-daɪ)

the nest in which insects or spiders deposit their eggs

pathol a focus of infection

a cavity in which plant spores develop

Derived Formsnidal, adjective

Word Origin for nidus

C18: from Latin nest

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nidus

nidus

"nest, breeding place," 1742, from Latin nidus "a nest," from Old Latin *nizdus (see nest (n.)). Figurative use by 1807. Classical plural is nidi.

Medicine definitions for nidus

nidus

[ nī′dəs ]

n. pl. ni•dus•es

A central point or focus of bacterial growth in a living organism.

A nest, especially one for the eggs of insects, spiders, pathogenic organisms, or small animals.

A cavity where spores develop.

A point or place at which something originates, accumulates, or develops, as the center around which calculi form.