Old Nick

English

Etymology

Originally 17th century. Apparently a special use of the forename Nick, perhaps in jocular or contrastive reference to Saint Nicholas. Alternatively, it may be derived from nicker, or some other derivative of Old English nicor (“water demon”).[1]

Proper noun

Old Nick

The Devil; Satan.
Synonyms: Old Scratch, Old Serpent; see also Thesaurus:Satan
- 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 158:
  He sat down in the middle of the floor, took his chalk out and marked a large ring around him, and round about this he wrote the Lord's Prayer, and then he did not feel afraid even if Old Nick himself should come.

References

William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “Nick”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, revised edition, volumes III (Hoop–O), New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 3986, column 2.

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[1] William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “Nick”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, revised edition, volumes III (Hoop–O), New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 3986, column 2.