Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EX NIHILO
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EX NIHILO:
Say it "EX NYE hill oh."
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The issue is about nothing!
It's about ex nihilo, Latin for "out of nothing."
You'll recognize how it comes from the Latin nihil, "nothing at all," just like the words nil ("nothing") and annihilate ("reduce to nothing").
And nih_____: the idea or belief that nothing is real, or that nothing is meaningful. Can you recall that one?
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definition:
The phrase ex nihilo is Latin for "out of nothing," and that's exactly what we mean by it when we use it in English.
When something is created ex nihilo, it's created out of nothing, or totally from scratch.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
It's a phrase that works like an adverb: "They created it ex nihilo."
Other forms:
Here's a similar phrase: ex nihilo nihil fit. (Sometimes it's written "nihil ex nihilo fit.") It means "Nothing comes from nothing." Less literally, it means "If something's going to be created, it's got to be created with raw materials, not with nothing." (That's a complex philosophical concept that I've probably oversimplified, but it'll do.)
how to use it:
This phrase is fancy and rare, but it's easy to understand.
So when you need to strike a serious or sophisticated tone, talk about people creating things ex nihilo--or, more often, not creating things ex nihilo.
examples:
"No man creates ex nihilo, but out of the materials supplied to him by his predecessors, his contemporaries, and his own experience."
— Max Beer, A History of British Socialism, 1919
"The old maxim 'nihil ex nihilo fit' is as true in commerce as in chemistry. In a competitive society a man can get nothing for nothing. If the middleman is a capitalist he may get something for use of his capital; but that too implies that his capital is put to some useful work."
— John A. Hobson, Problems of Poverty, 1891
has this page helped you understand "ex nihilo"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "ex nihilo" without saying "from scratch" or "with complete originality."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "_____ wasn't created ex nihilo. It grew out of _____."
Example: "The Harry Potter mythos wasn't created ex nihilo. It grew out of folklore, Greek mythology, the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, and more."
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for October is "Silly Smashings!"
In each issue this month, I'll give you the definition of a word I've concocted by smashing together two words we've studied before.
See if you can come up with the same silly smashing that I did.
For example, I'll say, "This noun means 'an extremely outdated, old-fashioned, ill-considered assumption that there are only two ways of dealing with a certain problem.'" And you'll say, "That's a troglodichotomy." (Which is a silly smashing of troglodyte and dichotomy.)
I'll list the answer at the bottom of each issue. Maybe your answer will match mine. Or maybe yours will be even better; if so, be sure to share it with me!
Try this one today:
This adjective describes people who--in a rush to explain, edit, and apologize for the offensive things they said--wind up talking and talking and talking.
review this word:
A. TO THE STARS.
B. FROM MANY SOURCES.
C. AMONG THE CREAM OF THE CROP.
2. According to The Week, Libra, the new cryptocurrency from Facebook, isn't _____ ex nihilo. It's _____.
A. created .. created "when someone buys [it] using some already existing national currency"
B. endorsed .. endorsed by "corporate heavy hitters like Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, eBay, Uber, and Lyft"
C. operated .. operated "by a central association... that will make all the technical and software and managerial decisions"
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
The phrase ex nihilo is Latin for "out of nothing," and that's exactly what we mean by it when we use it in English.
Part of speech:
This phrase is fancy and rare, but it's easy to understand.
"No man creates ex nihilo, but out of the materials supplied to him by his predecessors, his contemporaries, and his own experience."
Explain the meaning of "ex nihilo" without saying "from scratch" or "with complete originality."
Fill in the blanks: "_____ wasn't created ex nihilo. It grew out of _____."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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