nina
/ˈniːnə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.85 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
name
A female given name in continuous use since the 19th century.
name
The Babylonian goddess of the watery deep, daughter of Ea.
name
noun
Alternative letter-case form of nina (“a hidden message revealed in the completed grid of a crossword”).
noun
A NINA loan.
phrase
Initialism of no Irish need apply (in job advertisements).
Example Sentences
- "The first three, Macklin, Lydia, and Randall, were the special ones. Even those names, we thought, showed greater imagination, greater involvement on our parents' part, than ours did: Nina, Mary, Sarah. Clearly by that time they had run out of gas. "Nina. Such a pretty, old-fashioned name. I hope you don't mind my saying that." "No; I'm glad you think so.""
- "Ninas are also a way for setters to flex their muscles."
- "The puzzle itself was fairly easy however there was an elegant nina based on the middle entry (INSIDE STORY) in which each of the across answers hid a synonym of "story", e.g. 5A and 6A were: STABle gendER."
- "Ninas may or may not be present and, even if one is there, it can go unnoticed because, not being intrinsic to the solution, its presence is not advertised—or because it is so well hidden."
- "Other “personal” ninas are happier and subtler: birthday wishes to loved ones, which, ultimately, have only one intended reader"
Etymology
Borrowed into English in the nineteenth century, apparently from several sources. Many borrowings are of Russian Ни́на (Nína), the name of a Georgian saint in the fourth century, also known as Nino, of obscure origin and meaning, possibly connected with the Assyrian king Ninus. Others are of an Italian short form of diminutives like Annina from Anna and Giovannina from Giovanna. Phonologically or orthographically similar names are present in several languages, including Afrikaans, Hindi, Italian, Persian, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and some Native American languages. In many of those, it is a nickname for names ending in -ina or -nina. (hidden message in crossword): After Nina Hirschfeld, the daughter of the American caricaturist Al Hirschfeld; her name was often concealed in his drawings.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Ни́на, -