Question 1

What does "Nice" mean in the King James Bible?

Accepted Answer

In the KJV, "Nice" means "pleasant." The entire journey from ignorance through precision to pleasantness shows how English can evacuate a word completely. For scripture study, the key loss is the 'precise/discriminating' meaning that was active in the 1611 era -- careful, exact theological distinctions were 'nice' distinctions.

Question 2

Why did the word "Nice" disappear from modern English?

Accepted Answer

The most-traveled word in English: ignorant > foolish > shy > delicate > precise > agreeable > pleasant. Each century picked up a new meaning and dropped the old one. The word was at peak usage around 1400 and declined by ~1800 (final shift to purely positive).

Question 3

What modern word replaced "Nice"?

Accepted Answer

"Nice" was replaced by: "pleasant" (though this the final, bland landing point -- all specificity drained away); "precise" (though this the 1611-era meaning that survives in 'nice distinction' -- carefully discriminating); "foolish" (though this the original latin meaning of ignorance, completely inverted into a compliment).

What Does “Nice” Mean in the Bible?

What Was Lost