# nit

> English word · Noun · IPA /nɪt/ · frequency rank #25,859

## Definitions
1. The egg of a louse.
2. A young louse.
3. A head louse regardless of its age.
4. A fool, a nitwit.
5. A minor shortcoming; the object of a nitpick.
6. A nitpicker.

## Etymology
From Middle English nite, from Old English hnitu, from Proto-Germanic *hnits (compare Dutch neet, German Nisse, Norwegian nit), from Proto-Indo-European *-níd- (compare Scottish Gaelic sneadh, Lithuanian gli̇̀nda, Polish gnida, Albanian thëri, Ancient Greek κονίς (konís)).

## Easily confused with
- **NJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nj)
- **nm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nm)
- **NZ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nz)
- **NT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nt)
- **NP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-np)
- **nu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nu)
- **NL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nl)
- **nr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nr)
- **NN** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nn)
- **not** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-not)
- **now** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-now)
- **non** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-non)
- **nor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nor)
- **nov** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nov)
- **NYC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nyc)
- **nut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nut)
- **NSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nsa)
- **NSW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nsw)
- **nod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nod)
- **nun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/nit-vs-nun)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/nit