nil
[nil] 
| 1. | nothing; naught; zero. |
| 2. | having no value or existence: His credit rating is nil. |
1805–15; < L nīl, var. (by apocope) of nīlum, contr. of nihilum nothing, equiv. to ni (var. of ne not) + hīlum trifle
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| nil (nĭl) n. Nothing; zero. [Latin nīl, contraction of nihil; see ne in Indo-European roots.] nil adj. |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Nil
Nil\ [See Nill, v. t.] Will not. [Obs.] --Chaucer.Nil
Nil\, n. & a. [L., a contr. of nihil.] Nothing; of no account; worthless; -- a term often used for canceling, in accounts or bookkeeping. --A. J. Ellis.Cite This Source
NIL
/nil/ No. Used in reply to a question, particularly one asked using the `-P' convention. Most hackers assume this derives simply from LISP terminology for `false' (see also T), but NIL as a negative reply was well-established among radio hams decades before the advent of LISP. The historical connection between early hackerdom and the ham radio world was strong enough that this may have been an influence.Cite This Source
nil
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NIL
/nil/ 1. New Implementation of Lisp. A language intended to be the successor of MacLisp. A large Lisp, implemented mostly in VAX assembly language. A forerunner of Common LISP.
["NIL: A Perspective", Jon L. White, MACSYMA Users' Conf Proc, 1979].
2. Network Implementation Language. Strom & Yemini, TJWRC, IBM. Implementation of complex networking protocols in a modular fashion.
["NIL: An Integrated Language and System for Distributed Programming", R. Strom et al, SIGPLAN Notices 18(6):73-82 (June 1983)].
3. Empty list or False. In Lisp, the empty list (or "nil list") is used to represent the Boolean value False. This is possible because Lisp is not typed. True is represented by the special atom "t".
4. Spoken in reply to a question, particularly one asked using the "-P" convention it means "No". Most hackers assume this derives simply from LISP, but NIL meaning "no" was well-established among radio hams decades before LISP existed. The historical connection between early hackerdom and the ham radio world was strong enough that this may have been an influence.
[The Jargon File]
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| NIL nothing, I have nothing for you (shortwave transmission) |
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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