nixie

(redirected from nixy)
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nix·ie

also nix·y  (nĭk′sē)
n. pl. nix·ies Slang
A misaddressed or illegibly addressed piece of mail, therefore undeliverable.
[From nix.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

nixie

(ˈnɪksɪ)
n
(European Myth & Legend) German myth a female water sprite, usually unfriendly to humans
[C19: see nix]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

nix•ie1

(ˈnɪk si)

n.
a letter or parcel that is undeliverable because of a faulty or illegible address.
[1880–85, Amer.; nix1 + -ie]

nix•ie2

(ˈnɪk si)

n.
a female nix.
[1810–20; < German Nixe (Middle High German nickese, Old High German nicchessa; see nix2)]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

nixie

- Any piece of mail that is unable to be forwarded because it is illegibly or incorrectly addressed.
See also related terms for mail.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in classic literature ?
He realised at once that this could be none other than the nixy of the mill-pond, and in his terror he didn't know if he should fly away or remain where he was.
Then the nixy spoke comforting words to him, and promised that she would make him richer and more prosperous than he had ever been in his life before, if he would give her in return the youngest thing in his house.
The miller thought she must mean one of his puppies or kittens, so promised the nixy at once what she asked, and returned to his mill full of hope.
The poor miller was much horrified by these tidings, and went in to his wife with a heavy heart to tell her and his relations of the fatal bargain he had just struck with the nixy. 'I would gladly give up all the good fortune she promised me,' he said,
But all the same he did not enjoy his good fortune, for he could not forget his compact with the nixy, and he knew that sooner or later she would demand his fulfilment of it.
He had hardly dipped them in the pond when the nixy rose up in the water, and seizing him in her wet arms she dragged him down with her under the waves.
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One day she says she will; the same evenin' she says nixy. We've agreed on to-night, and Rosy's stuck to the affirmative this time for two whole days.
View in context
"Intelligent and fearless, Nixy is an original heroine to add to an already stellar collection of female science fiction protagonists.
Best science fiction, fantasy, horror 2016

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