nisus

American  

[nahy-suhs] / ˈnaɪ səs /

noun

plural

nisus

1. an effort or striving toward a particular goal or attainment; impulse.

---

nisus British  

/ ˈnaɪsəs /

noun

1. an impulse towards or striving after a goal

---

Etymology

Origin of nisus

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin nīsus “planting one’s feet firmly, strong muscular effort,” equivalent to nīt(ī) “to support or exert oneself” + -sus, variant of -tus suffix denoting the action of the verb

Example Sentences

The word nisus I have adopted chiefly to express an energy truly vital, and therefore to distinguish it as clearly as possible from powers merely mechanical, by which some physiologists formerly endeavoured to explain generation.

From Project Gutenberg

Now, taking as the point of departure the first creative nisus or effort of the Deity, this is true.

From Project Gutenberg

It may be called a power arbitrary and contingent; but this means only that it is a power which absolutely puts forth its own nisus, and is free.

From Project Gutenberg

This nisus naturae is never absent; it is observable even where, as in the generation of “monsters” by living organisms, it partially fails to attain its end.

From Project Gutenberg

Some have confounded it with the mystical nisus formativus, or formative principle of preceding theorists.

From Project Gutenberg