A Dictionary of Cont..

a name to conjure with, but it has now faded
from it and the words are merely a hackneyed
expression to designate one who is influential.
napkin. See serviette.
narcissus. The plural is narcissuses or narcissi.
narrate. See describe.
narrative. See relation.
nasty in American usage still means, primarily,
physically filthy or disgustingly unclean, nauseous,
or obscene (The ill-kept barn was in a
nasty condition. The famous elixir was a .nastytasting
stu# of a brownish-green color. When
we used nasty words Aunt Susan used to make
us wash our mouths out with soap and )water.
Nasty little boys). Eighty years ago, De Vere
tells us in his Americanisms, the word itself was
a nasty word in America, not to be spoken in
the hearing of ladies. The meanings of the word
now more common in England, of unpleasant
or disagreeable (He’s in a nasty mood; I
wouldn’t ask him just now. I say, that’s a nastylooking
bump you’ve got on your head. We
were two hours in a nasty trafic jam on the
Headington road), would be recognized in
America and even used--though probably with
a slightly humorous intent-but the older
meanings are far more common.
native. See African.
natural. See normal.
nature is used unnecessarily in such phra:ses as
the dangerous nature of the assignment where
the danger of the assignment would be more
effective. It is a great favorite of those who like
to make a short story long.
naught. See aught.
nautilus. The plural is nautiluses or nautili.
naval; navel. Naval is an adjective meaning of or
pertaining to ships, especially, and now only,
ships of war, or belonging to, or pertaining to,
or connected with, a navy (Trafalgar remains
the greatest of all naval engagements. Naval
regulations do not permit . . .).
Navel is a noun. It designates the umbilicus
or, in Sir Thomas Browne’s words, “that tortuosity
or complicated nodosity” that is empitted
in the middle of the surface of the belly (This
ingenious theory, that the real “use or o@ce”
of Adam’s navel was to tempt men into the sin
of being sensible, was revived in 1857 by Philip
Henry Gosse); and, by extension, the central
point or middle of any thing or place (Within
the navel of this hideous wood/ Immur’d in
cypress shades a sorcerer dwells).
The navel orange is so called because it has
at its apex a navellike formation containing a
small secondary fruit, but one often sees them
marked, through ignorance or false delicacy, as
naval oranges.
n.b. This is an abbreviation of the Latin words
nota bene and means “note well.”
near; nearly. Near was once the comparative
form of nigh but it is now felt as a positive and
given a regular comparison, nearer, nearest.
Near may be used as an adjective to qualify a
noun, as in the nearest house, the near juture.
Both near and nearly may be used as adverbs.
313 necessary
Nearly is ordinarily used as an adverb of
degree meaning approximately or almost. In
current English it is preferred to near in this
sense, as in it nearly broke her heart and it is
not nearly as late as I thought. Traditionally,
near may also be used in this sense but sentences
such as it near broke her heart and it is
not near as late as I thought are now considered
old fashioned. The construction is more acceptable
today if near itself is qualified by an adverb
of degree, as in it very near broke her heart and
it is nowhere near as late as I thought. Nearly
cannot be used as an adverb of place. For this
we must use neur, as in I was standing near.
The word near may be followed immediately
by an object, as in the atmosphere near the
earth and it came near him; or the preposition
to may be used, as in the atmosphere near to
the earth and it came near to him. Both constructions
are acceptable. Near may be combined
with some form of come or go to mean
almost succeed. In this sense, forms of the verb
come may be followed by near or near to and
the -ing form of a verb, as in this came near
convincing him. Forms of the verb go may be
followed by near to and an -ing form, as in this
went near to proving it, or by near to and the
simple form of a verb, as in this went near to
prove it. The idiom involving go is not often
heard in the United States. See also almost and
practically.
nearby. This word or compound is not standard
in Great Britain. In the United States, it may
be used as an adjective, as in a nearby town,
or as an adverb, as in there was a stream
nearby, but is not standard when used as a
preposition with an object, as in he stood nearby
me.
neat but not gaudy. Originally serious, with neat
having the meaning of clear, bright, or fine,
neat but not gaudy became ironical in the nineteenth
century and in this use has become a
clichC. It was made a part of several sayings
whose humor now seems forced to us: Neat
but not gaudy, as the devil said when he painted
his tail green or as the monkey said when he
painted his tail blue, etc.
nebula. The plural is nebulas or nebulae.
necessary; essential; indispensable; requisite. That
is necessary which cannot be dispensed with or
is the inevitable consequence of certain causes
(It is necessary to see him first. Must that
necessarily follow?). Essential means of the
very essence of being (Air is essential to the
maintenance of human life). Although it is a
synonym of necessary, usage has made it-or,
perhaps, lack of use has left it-a stronger word
than necessary. If a man is told that it is necessary
for him to attend a certain meeting, there
is the implication of a strong compulsion. But
if he is told that it is essential for him to go,
there is an implication that the meeting or his
own affairs, or both, simply will not continue
in their present state of being if he does not go.
Indispensable designates that which cannot be
done without or removed from the rest of a