niña

[nee-nyah]

noun, plural ni·ñas

[nee-nyahs] /ˈni nyɑs/. Spanish.

girl; child.

Nina

[nee-nuh, nahy-]

noun

a female given name, Russian form of Anna.

Niña

[neen-yuh, nee-nuh; Spanish nee-nyah]

noun

one of the three ships under the command of Columbus when he made his first voyage of discovery to America in 1492.

La Niña

[lah nee-nyah]

noun

a cool ocean current that develops off the coast of Ecuador and Peru, sometimes following an El Niño but causing nearly the opposite extreme weather conditions.

Origin of La Niña

1985–90; < Spanish: literally, the female child; patterned after El Niño

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for nina

Contemporary Examples of nina

You can see that with Nina, definitely, in the first few episodes.
Eliza Coupe Finds Her ‘Happy Ending’ With ‘Benched’
Kevin Fallon
October 28, 2014
In some cases, such as those of Dallas nurses Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, the body figures out how to fight back.
Blood Is Ebola’s Weapon and Weakness
Abby Haglage
October 26, 2014
“Like Nina Pham, she is a heroic person—a person who has dedicated her life to helping others,” he told a press conference.
Ebola Nurses Are As Brave As Soldiers
Michael Daly
October 17, 2014
Get a Piece of Houdini Before He Disappears By Nina Strochlic A death-defying magical box.
The Best of the Beast, Aug 25-31: High Schools, Houdini and Hip-Hop Jihadists
The Daily Beast
August 30, 2014
In 2003 Nina Clarkin, a British player, became the first woman to play on a team that won the Veuve Cliquot Gold Cup.
Breaking Polo's Grass Ceiling
Keli Goff
August 20, 2014

Historical Examples of nina

Nina's eyes flashed angrily, as though such jesting was an offence.
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever
Listen to that sigh of poor Nina's and you'll understand what it is to be dreary!'
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever
Nina had been a great success in society, and she reaped the full benefit of it.
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever
Indeed, not alone with him, but with all of us—even Nina did not escape.'
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever
Have you lived long enough amongst us, Nina, to know that we all hate the law?
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever

British Dictionary definitions for nina

La Niña

noun

meteorol a cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific, occurring in certain years

Word Origin for La Niña

C20: from Spanish: The Little Girl, to distinguish it from El Niño

Niña

noun

the Niña one of the three ships commanded by Columbus in 1492

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 nina

Nina

fem. proper name; in a Russian context it is a shortening of Annina, diminutive of Greek Anna. In a Spanish context, Niña "child, infant," a nursery word.

nina in Science

La Niña

[lä nēn′yä]

A cooling of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring somewhat less frequently than El Niño events but causing similar, generally opposite disruptions to global weather patterns. La Niña conditions occur when the Pacific trade winds blow more strongly than usual, pushing the sun-warmed surface water farther west and increasing the upwelling of cold water in the eastern regions. Together with the atmospheric effects of the related southern oscillation, the cooler water brings drought to western South America and heavy rains to eastern Australia and Indonesia. Compare El Niño.