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nibs

 [nibz]   Origin

nibs

   [nibz]
noun
his/her nibs, Informal: Often Facetious. a person in authority, especially one who is demanding and tyrannical: His nibs wants fresh strawberries in December.
Origin:
1815–25; origin uncertain

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Nibs is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

nib

   [nib]
noun
1.
the point of a pen, or either of its divisions.
2.
a penpoint for insertion into a penholder.
3.
a point of anything: a cutting tool with a diamond nib.
4.
a bill or beak, as of a bird; neb.
5.
any pointed extremity.
EXPAND
6.
Metallurgy.
a.
a piece of sintered tungsten carbide used as a die for drawing wire or the like.
b.
(in powder metallurgy) a compact at any stage of its manufacture.
COLLAPSE
Origin:
1575–85; perhaps variant of neb; compare Dutch nib, Middle Low German nibbe (variant of nebbe) beak, Old Norse nibba sharp point. See nibble

Related forms
nib·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To nibs
Collins
World English Dictionary
nibs (nɪbz)
 
—n
slang (functioning as singular) his nibs a mock title used of someone in authority
 
[C19: of unknown origin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

nib
1585, "beak or bill of a bird," Scot. variant of O.E. neb, from P.Gmc. *nabjan (see neb). Meaning "point" (of a pen or quill) first recorded 1611.
EXPAND

nibs
esp. in His Nibs "boss, employer, self-important person," 1821, of unknown origin.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

nib (nĭb)
n.
The smooth or serrated portion of a dental instrument that comes into contact with restorative material being condensed.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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