nidus

[nahy-duh s]

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.

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

Historical Examples of nidus

This thin but rough covering entangles stray particles, and thus by its own decay affords a nidus for a stronger growth.
The Dwelling House
George Vivian Poore
These flies are continually prowling about and prying into every corner, to find, by stealth, a nidus for their eggs.
Insect Architecture
James Rennie
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
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
Beyond the Kirghisians lodged a nidus of Bucharians, wild as the asses of Numidia.
With the World's Great Travellers, Volume IV
Various

British Dictionary definitions for nidus

nidus

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

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

nidus in Medicine

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.