Old Nick

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Old Nick

Where it comes from

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”).

proper noun

The Devil; Satan. 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.
Similar: Old Harry, Old Ned, Old Scratch, Old Serpent, Aduwallah, Adversary, Al-Shaytaan, Antichrist, archfiend, Ash-Shaytan, Azazel, Beast

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MLA

"Old Nick." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/old%20nick. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Old Nick. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/old%20nick

Chicago

"Old Nick." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/old%20nick.

BibTeX

@misc{old_nick_2026,
  title = {Old Nick},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/old%20nick},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}