Nicholas

English

Alternative forms

• Nicolas
• Nickolas, Nikolas (usually of non-English origin)

Etymology

From Middle English Nicholas, from Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos), from νίκη (níkē, “victory”) +‎ λαός (laós, “people”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɪk.ə.ləs/, /ˈnɪk.ləs/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkələs, -ɪkləs
• Homophone: knickerless (non-rhotic)

Proper noun

Nicholas (countable and uncountable, plural Nicholases)

1. A male given name from Ancient Greek. Best known for St. Nicholas of Myre, on whom Father Christmas is based.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:

     Sirrah, if they meet not with Saint Nicholas’ clerks, I'll give thee this neck.

   • 1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter LIII, in Middlemarch […], volume III, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book V, page 182:

     I must call you Nick—we always did call you young Nick when we knew you meant to marry the old widow. Some said you had a handsome family likeness to old Nick, but that was your mother's fault, calling you Nicholas. Aren't you glad to see me again?

2. A surname originating as a patronymic.
3. An unincorporated community in Fluvanna County, Virginia, United States.
4. A settlement on Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands.

Derived terms

• Combe St Nicholas
• Deeping St Nicholas
• Nicholas County
• Nicholasville
• St Nicholas at Wade
• St Nicholas Hurst

 

Related terms

• Santa Claus

male given names

• Claus
• Colin
• Klaus
• Nichol
• Nicol

 

pet forms

• Cole
• Kolya
• Nick
• Nicky
• Nico

 

female given names

• Colette
• Nicki
• Nicola
• Nicole
• Nikki

 

surnames

• Coales
• Cole
• Coles
• Colin
• Coll
• Collard
• Colle
• Collen
• Collet
• Collett
• Collin
• Colling
• Collinge
• Collings
• Collins
• Collinson
• Collis
• Collison
• Colls
• Collyns
• Colson
• Coules
• Coulson
• Cowles
• Cowling
• Nichol
• Nicholds
• Nicholl
• Nicholls
• Nichols
• Nicholson
• Nickalls
• Nickel
• Nickell
• Nickells
• Nickels
• Nickerson
• Nickisson
• Nickle
• Nickless
• Nicklin
• Nickolds
• Nickolls
• Nickols
• Nicks
• Nickson
• Nicol
• Nicolas
• Nicoll
• Nicolls
• Nicolson
• Nix
• Nixon
• Nixson

 

Translations

male given name

• Albanian: Nikolla, Nishi, Kollë
• Arabic: نِقُولَا (Niqūlā) (transliteration), نِيقُولَا m (nīqūlā), نِيقُولَاوُس m (nīqūlāwus)
• Armenian: Նիկողայոս (Nikoġayos), Նիկողոս (Nikoġos), Նիկոլ (Nikol)
• Basque: Nikolas
• Belarusian: Мікала́й m (Mikaláj)
• Breton: Nikolaz (br)
• Bulgarian: Никола (bg) (Nikola), Николай (Nikolaj)
• Catalan: Nicolau (ca), Micolau
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 尼古拉斯 (zh) (Nígǔlāsī) (transliteration)

• Chuvash: Микулай (Mik̬ulaj)
• Czech: Mikuláš (cs) m, Mikoláš, Nikola (cs) m
• Danish: Niels (da), Niklas
• Dutch: Nicolaas (nl)
• Esperanto: Nikolao
• Faroese: Niklas m
• Finnish: Niilo (fi), Niko (fi)
• French: Nicolas (fr)

  Middle French: Nicolas

  Old French: Nicholas

• Friulian: Niculau
• Galician: Nicolau (gl)
• Georgian: ნიკოლოზ (niḳoloz)
• German: Nikolaus (de), Klaus (de)
• Greek: Νικόλαος (el) (Nikólaos), Νικόλας (el) (Nikólas)
• Greenlandic: Nikkulaat, Niisi
• Hungarian: Miklós (hu)
• Icelandic: Nikulás (is)
• Irish: Nioclás
• Italian: Nicola (it), Niccolò
• Japanese: (transliteration) ニコラス (Nikorasu)
• Kazakh: Николай (Nikolai)
• Korean: 니콜라스 (Nikollaseu)
• Ladin: Nuclò
• Latin: Nīcolāus m
• Latvian: Nikolajs
• Lithuanian: Mikalojus (lt), Mikas
• Low German: Nickel, Klaas
• Luxembourgish: Nicolas
• Macedonian: Ни́кола (Níkola)
• Maltese: Nikola m
• Maori: Nīkora
• Middle English: Nicholas
• Northern Sami: Niillas
• Norwegian: Nils (no)

  Bokmål: Nikolai (no)

• Occitan: Micolau m, Colau m
• Persian: نیکولاس (nikolâs)
• Polish: Mikołaj (pl) m
• Portuguese: Nicolau (pt)
• Romanian: Nicolae (ro)
• Russian: Никола́й (ru) m (Nikoláj) (cognate), Николас (ru) m (Nikolas) (transliteration)
• Scottish Gaelic: Nicol, Neacail
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Нѝкола m, Ни́ко m

  Roman: Nìkola (sh) m, Níko m

• Sicilian: Nicola m, Nicò m, Cola m
• Slovak: Mikuláš m
• Slovene: Mikávž m, Nikoláj (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Upper Sorbian: Mikławš (hsb) m

• Spanish: Nicolás (es)
• Swahili: Nikolau
• Swedish: Nils (sv), Nikolaus (sv), Niklas (sv), Klas (sv)
• Thai: นิโคลัส (níkohlát)
• Ukrainian: Мико́ла (Mykóla), Мико́лай (Mykólaj) (old style)
• Venetan: Nicołò
• Vietnamese: Nicôla
• Walloon: Nicolai
• Yakut: Ньукулай (Nyukulay)

Anagrams

• halocins, lichanos

Middle English

Alternative forms

• Nicolas, Nicholaus

Etymology

From Old French Nicholas, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnikɔlas/, /ˈnikɔlau̯s/

Proper noun

Nicholas

1. a male given name associated with Saint Nicholas of Myra.

Descendants

• English: Nicholas
• Scots: Nicholas

References

• “Nicholas, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-05-30.

Old French

Alternative forms

• Nicolas

Etymology

From Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος (Nikólaos).

Proper noun

Nicholas

1. a male given name

Descendants

• Middle English: Nicholas