Saint Nick
6
3.4
- proper noun
- /seɪnt nɪk/
- Informal
- jolly old Saint Nick
- old Saint Nick
Examples
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Their father gave the short, round, rolling Ho! of an evil Saint Nick.
Fiction book (2001) -
Every good little MQI fanatic better write to Saint Nick right now to make sure a pentagon-shaped package is waiting under the Christmas tree.
Fiction book (2001) -
What's the season, jingle jingle, jolly old Saint Nick, and so on? "Yes, I'm aware of the phenomenon," I said testily.
Fiction book (2001) -
At Christmas time, children eagerly await gifts from Saint Nick as they hang their stockings.
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Every year, Saint Nick is depicted as a cheerful man who brings joy and presents to children.
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In many stories, Saint Nick travels in a sleigh pulled by reindeer to deliver toys on Christmas Eve.
Synonyms
893
1.0
A jolly old man who brings presents to children on Christmas Eve
240
1.0
A friendly old man in red who brings gifts to children at Christmas
11
3.4
A fourth-century bishop from Myra who is a saint and inspired Santa Claus
9
2.0
An imaginary man who brings presents to children at Christmas
4
4.2
A Christian saint from the 300s who inspired Santa Claus and gave gifts to children at Christmas
3
5.0
A man in stories who brings presents to children at Christmas
3
3.6
A man in stories who brings gifts to children at Christmas
Surface Forms
Morphology
saint + Nick
The phrase literally composes 'saint' (a holy person) with the proper name 'Nick', so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a saintly person called Nick. However, understanding it specifically as the informal name for Santa Claus requires cultural/encyclopedic knowledge that St. Nicholas = Santa, which is not derivable from the constituent meanings alone and may vary cross‑linguistically and by learner background.
Etymology
Saint Nick comes from the real Saint Nicholas, a kind bishop who long ago left small secret 'gifts' for poor children. That's why today Saint Nick means the friendly gift-giver we also call 'Santa Claus'.