nix

nix¹

/niks/, Slang.

n.

1. nothing.

adv.

2. no.

interj.

3. (used as an exclamation, esp. of warning): Nix, the cops!

v.t.

4. to veto; refuse to agree to; prohibit: to nix the project.

[1780-90; < G: var. of nichts nothing]

nix²

/niks/, n., pl. nixes.

(in Germanic folklore) a water spirit that draws its victims into its underwater home.

[1825-35; < G Nix, OHG nihhus; c. OE nicor water monster, ON nykr, Norw nøkk, Sw näck; cf. Skt nenekti (he) washes]

* * *

▪ German mythology

also called  nixie , or  nixy 

      in Germanic mythology, a water being, half human, half fish, that lives in a beautiful underwater palace and mingles with humans by assuming a variety of physical forms (e.g., that of a fair maiden or an old woman) or by making itself invisible. One of three attributes may betray the disguises of nixes: they are music lovers and excellent dancers, and they have the gift of prophecy. Usually malevolent, a nix can easily be propitiated with gifts. In some regions, nixes are said to abduct human children and to lure people into deep water to drown. According to some sources, nixes can marry human beings and bear human children.

* * *