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

---

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

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

The Nixie of the Mummel-lake The legend of the nixie of Seebach is one of gloom and tragedy, albeit as charming as most of the Rhine tales.

From Hero Tales and Legends of the Rhine by Spence, Lewis

He's pretty well set up now, and he evidently has his eye upon this brown-eyed nixie.

From A Fascinating Traitor An Anglo-Indian Story by Savage, Richard

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 Goepp, Philip H.

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

From The Feast at Solhoug by Archer, William

Related Words

• gnome
• gremlin