“nothing” in Latin

nihil (☞ the usual form in the best prose writers: Cic. seems to have altogether avoided the abbreviation nil, which occurs in his works only in passages cited from poets; Vid: Müller ad Cic., Or. pro Sest., 28, p. 73; Goerenz ad Cic., Fin., 2, p. 153); nihilum: ☞ nihil substantive or adjective; nihilum only substantive; but if the substantive is to be declined, then always nulla res (with the exception of nihili and nihilo); nulla res, either abstractly or concretely, of things, or of events, nihil always in a subjective sense, and always abstractly (Vid: Herzog, ad Caes., B.C., 2, 6); e.g., nihil agere, nihil loqui; quod mihi nulla res eripiet; nulla res Caesari ad pristinam fortunam defuit; prorsus nihil. Since nihil is PROP. a substantive, it takes an adjective or a genitive after it; e.g., nothing of the sort, nihil tale: he has done nothing new, nihil novi fecit: nothing can come of nothing, de nihilo nihil fit; de nihilo nihil creari potest: for nothing, sine causa (e.g., laborare): from nothing, ex or de nihilo: a thing comes to nothing, res non succedit, non habet optatum or speratum eventum (does not take place): res non exitum habet, non ad effectum adducitur (does not succeed): to come to nothing = perish, ad nihilum venire, redigi, or recidere; in nihilum interire or occidere: to think nothing of, pro nihilo putare or ducere (not to value it): negligere, omittere (to disregard it): nothing less, nihil minus; nihil vero minus: there is nothing in a thing, in aliqua re nihil est: there is nothing in it = it is not so, haec res non ita se habet: to be good for nothing, nihil esse: nihil posse; non multum valere (to be of no power or influence): nihili esse, inutilem esse (to be useless or unprofitable): nothing but, merus (☞ in good prose only of things): e.g., to speak of nothing but war, merum bellum loqui: to narrate nothing but prodigies, mera monstra narrare: nothing but trifles, merae nugae; or by summus, magnus, singularis; e.g., he showed nothing but friendliness in receiving me, summa comitate me excipiebat. Nothing but, nihil nisi (but not nihil quam; Vid: Zumpt § 735); nihil aliud nisi (nothing else than = nihil praeter, and is exclusive; whereas nihil aliud quam is comparative = is this, and nothing different from or more than this; Vid: Krüger, 585, 2). OBS. After nihil aliud nisi a participle or adjective agrees with the following substantive (ut nihil aliud nisi pax videatur quaesita, Cic.). ☞ They do nothing but, etc. In expressions of this kind the Latin is elliptical, and omits the facere or agere (e.g., nihil aliud quam bellum comparavit, Nep.).