niche
(n
ch, n
sh)
KEY
NOUN:
- A recess in a wall, as for holding a statue or urn.
- A cranny, hollow, or crevice, as in rock.
-
- A situation or activity specially suited to a person's interests, abilities, or nature:
found her niche in life.
- A special area of demand for a product or service:
"One niche that is approaching mass-market proportions is held by regional magazines"
(Brad Edmondson).
-
Ecology
- The function or position of an organism or population within an ecological community.
- The particular area within a habitat occupied by an organism.
TRANSITIVE VERB:
niched
,
nich·ing
,
nich·es
- To place in a niche.
ETYMOLOGY:
French, from Old French, from
nichier,
to nest (from Vulgar Latin *
n
dic
re, from Latin
ndus,
nest; see
sed- in Indo-European roots), or from Old Italian
nicchio,
seashell (perhaps from Latin
mtulus,
mussel)
