From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
nick
n 1: an impression in a surface (as made by a blow) [syn:
dent, ding, gouge, nick]
2: (British slang) a prison; "he's in the nick"
3: a small cut [syn: notch, nick, snick]
v 1: cut slightly, with a razor; "The barber's knife nicked his
cheek" [syn: nick, snick]
2: cut a nick into [syn: nick, chip]
3: divide or reset the tail muscles of; "nick horses"
4: mate successfully; of livestock
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Nick \Nick\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Nicked (n[i^]kt); p. pr. &
vb. n. Nicking.]
1. To make a nick or nicks in; to notch; to keep count of or
upon by nicks; as, to nick a stick, tally, etc.
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2. To mar; to deface; to make ragged, as by cutting nicks or
notches in; to create a nick[2] in, deliberately or
accidentally; as, to nick the rim of a teacup.
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And thence proceed to nicking sashes. --Prior.
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The itch of his affection should not then
Have nicked his captainship. --Shak.
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3. To suit or fit into, as by a correspondence of nicks; to
tally with.
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Words nicking and resembling one another are
applicable to different significations. --Camden.
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4. To hit at, or in, the nick; to touch rightly; to strike at
the precise point or time.
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The just season of doing things must be nicked, and
all accidents improved. --L'Estrange.
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5. To make a cross cut or cuts on the under side of (the tail
of a horse, in order to make him carry it higher).
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Nick \Nick\ (n[i^]k), n. [AS. nicor a marine monster; akin to D.
nikker a water spite, Icel. nykr, ONG. nihhus a crocodile, G.
nix a water sprite; cf. Gr. ni`ptein to wash, Skr. nij. Cf.
Nix.] (Northern Myth.)
An evil spirit of the waters.
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Old Nick, the evil one; the devil. [Colloq.]
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Nick \Nick\, n. [Akin to Nock.]
1. A notch cut into something; as:
(a) A score for keeping an account; a reckoning. [Obs.]
(b) (Print.) A notch cut crosswise in the shank of a type,
to assist a compositor in placing it properly in the
stick, and in distribution. --W. Savage.
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2. Hence: A broken or indented place in any edge or surface;
as, nicks in a china plate; a nick in the table top.
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3. A particular point or place considered as marked by a
nick; the exact point or critical moment.
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To cut it off in the very nick. --Howell.
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This nick of time is the critical occasion for the
gaining of a point. --L'Estrange.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Nick \Nick\, v. t.
To nickname; to style. [Obs.]
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For Warbeck, as you nick him, came to me. --Ford.
[1913 Webster] Nickar nut
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008) [foldoc]:
nick
[IRC] nickname. On IRC, every user must pick a nick, which
is sometimes the user's real name or login name, but is often
more fanciful. Compare handle.
[Jargon File]
From Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) [jargon]:
nick
n.
[IRC; very common] Short for nickname. On IRC, every user must pick
a nick, which is sometimes the same as the user's real name or login
name, but is often more fanciful. Compare handle, screen name.