Word of the day: Nimiety

Nimiety

[ni-MAHY-i-tee]

Part of speech: noun

Origin: Latin, 16th century

State of being in excess, more than is needed.

Examples of nimiety in a sentence

"Arlene had a nimiety of Halloween candy and insisted Carl take some home after the party."

"Our backyard has such a nimiety of sparrows that their constant noise can become disruptive."

About Nimiety

This word comes from the Latin “nimietās,” meaning “excess” or “redundancy.”

Did you Know?

While “nimiety” is a neutral term describing a state of excess, it has frequently been used with negative connotations of wastefulness, dilution, and exhaustion. Often, “nimiety” means not just “more than necessary,” but rather “too much in a way that has unpleasant outcomes.” For example, a salad dressing might be overpowered by a nimiety of vinegar, or a dish might suffer a nimiety of salt or hot peppers. The term can also describe the absence of brevity: A writer might need an editor’s red pen to fix a nimiety of flowery adjectives.