Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

1. nīsus, a, um, Part., from nitor.

2. nīsus, ūs, m. [nitor], a pressing or resting upon or against, a pressure; a striving, exertion, labor, effort (mostly poet.; nixus in good prose, v. h. v.): pedetentim et sedato nisu, a tread, step, Pac. ap. Cic. Tusc. 2, 21, 48: pinnarum nisus inanis, a flight, Lucr. 6, 834; so, insolitos docuere nisus, Hor. C. 4, 4, 8: hic dea se primum rapido pulcherrima nisu Sistit, Verg. A. 11, 852: stat gravis Entellus nisuque immotus eodem, etc., in the same posture, id. ib. 5, 437: hunc stirps Oceani maturis nisibus Aethra Edidit, pains, throes, labor of parturition (v. 2. nixus), Ov. F. 5, 171.
In prose: tamquam nisus evomentis adjuvaret, retchings, Tac. A. 12, 67: uti prospectus nisusque per saxa facilius foret, Sall. J. 94, 1 Dietsch: quae dubia nisu videbantur, id. ib. 94, 2 Dietsch: non pervenit nisu sed impetu, Quint. 8, 4, 9; 1, 12, 10.

3. Nīsus, i, m., = Νῖσος

  1. I. A king of Megara, father of Scylla, who, in order to gain the love of Minos, cut off her father’s purple hair, on which the safety of his kingdom depended, whereupon Nisus was changed into a sparrow-hawk, and Scylla into the bird ciris, Verg. G. 1, 404 sq.; Ov. M. 8, 8 sqq.; v. Scylla.
    1. B. Hence,
      1. 1. Nī-saeus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Nisus, Nisæan: et vos Nisaei, naufraga monstra, canes, i. e. Scylla, the daughter of Phorcus, Ov. F. 4, 500; cf. id. A. A. 1, 331.
      2. 2. Nīsēis, ĭdis, f., the daughter of Nisus, Scylla (q. v.), confounded with the daughter of Phorcus: praeterita cautus Niseide navita gaudet, Ov. R. Am. 737.
      3. 3. Nī-sēĭus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Nisus, Nisæan: per mare caeruleum trahitur Niseia virgo, Verg. Cir. 390; Ov. M. 8, 35.
      4. 4. Nīsĭas, ădis, f., Nisæan, i. e. Megarian: Nisiades matres Nisiadesque nurus, of Megaris, in Sicily (a colony of Megara, in Greece), Ov. H. 15, 54.
  2. II. Son of Hyrtacus and friend of Euryalus, Verg. A. 5, 294; 9, 176 sq.

1. nixus and nīsus, a, um, Part., from 1. nitor.