nixie
/ˈnɪksi/noun
nixie is spelled N-I-X-I-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nixie means “A female nix, a water-spirit” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nixie is nixies.
How many letters and syllables are in nixie?
| Letters | 5: N-I-X-I-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 109,062nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is nixie?
Nixie appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce nixie?
- /ˈnɪksi/
Nixie has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-nixie.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of nixie
- nixies plural
- nixe
- nixy
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nixie mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A female nix, a water-spirit.
- 2
A piece of mail returned as undeliverable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nixie in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense female water spirit:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Nixe |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does nixie come from?
From German Nixe, feminine of Nix, from Middle High German nickes, from Old High German nihhus (“water-elf, crocodile”), from Proto-Germanic *nikwus, *nikwis, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *neygʷ- (“to wash”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).