Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

nixie

1 American  
[nik-see] / ˈnɪk si /

noun

  1. a letter or parcel that is undeliverable by the post office because of a faulty or illegible address.


nixie 2 American  
[nik-see] / ˈnɪk si /

noun

German Folklore.
  1. a female water spirit.


nixie British  
/ ˈnɪksɪ /

noun

  1. German myth a female water sprite, usually unfriendly to humans

"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

Etymology

Origin of nixie1

First recorded in 1880–85; nix 1 + -ie

Origin of nixie2

1810–20; < German Nixe ( Middle High German nickese, Old High German nicchessa; nix 2 ), perhaps construed at time of borrowing as nix 2 + -ie

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

I think of the river and how, when one nixie detached from the others, Cardan waited until it paused and then left so we could get out of the water.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

You were then a child; Now you are a nixie, spell-weaving, wild.

From The Feast at Solhoug by William Archer

On dancing rays and ripples is the laughing nixie; but suddenly breaks the first song of the main figures.

From Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies by Philip H. Goepp

"Cat eyes," "nixie eyes," are samples of the epithets bestowed upon them.

From The Song of Songs by Hermann Sudermann

On dancing ripples, a nixie is laughing to echoing horns and lures us back to the story.

From Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies by Philip H. Goepp

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 12,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training