nihil
- noun
- /ˈnaɪhɪl/
- Archaic
:
nihil
- require a nihil
Examples
-
It is just this that allows the shift from talk of nihil to talk of nihilation.
Academic text (2017) -
Ultimately, any book that lacks the nihil obstat and imprimatur cannot be considered definitive or free from error.
Blog text (31) -
It certainly raises the question of whether "distortion" - from neutral to nihil - describes the character of indifference as it appears in varieties of speculative and nonhuman thought.
Academic text (2016) -
In legal terms, a document can be declared invalid if it is lacking a nihil indicating that there were no objections.
-
The court ruled that the case could proceed since there was a valid nihil from the previous attempt to serve the writ.
-
Without a nihil, the plea would be considered void, as it signifies that nothing stands in the way of proceeding.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Not any of a group of people or things
30
8.3
The state of having no value, result, or importance
A state in which nothing exists
Compounds
- Jargon
An official statement from the Catholic Church that a book has no errors in faith or morals
Surface Forms
Etymology
Nihil is a Latin word meaning 'nothing', and it was used in old legal notes to show that nothing was found or done. You can see the same root in English annihilate ('to make nothing') and nihilism ('belief in nothing'), which helps explain why nihil marks 'no result' in a legal record.