nicchia

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnik.kja/
• Rhymes: -ikkja
• Hyphenation: nìc‧chia

Etymology 1

Probably from nicchiare.

Noun

nicchia f (plural nicchie)

1. niche
2. cavity, hollow (in a hill etc.)

Derived terms

• di nicchia
• ranicchiare

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

nicchia

1. inflection of nicchiare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• nicchia in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Sicilian

Alternative forms

• nnicchia

Etymology

Compare Italian nicchia, French niche, ultimately likely from Latin nīdus (“nest”).

Noun

nicchia f (plural nicchi)

1. niche (cavity in a wall, usually for statues, etc.)
2. niche (one's profession, speciality)

   èssiri nta la so nicchia ― (please add an English translation of this usage example) (literally, “to be in one's niche”)

3. a small part; a bit
   • c. 1786, Giovanni Meli, chapter I, in Don Chisciotti e Sanciu Panza, stanza 2:

     E mi fa viva e premurusa istanza, ¶ Chi a l’immortalità voli una ’nnicchia […].

     He makes the eager stirring requests that he want's just a niche of the immortality […].

References

• Traina, Antonino (1868) “nìcchia”, in Nuovo vocabolario Siciliano-Italiano (in Italian), Liber Liber, published 2020, page 2718
• Pasqualino (c. 1790) “nicchia”, in Vocabolario siciliano etimologico, italiano e latino (in Italian), volume 3, page 296