How often do you use the word "nice"? I have no idea how many times I physically utter the word "nice" in a single day, but I'd guess it's a lot.
你有多经常用到“nice”这个词呢？我不知道我每天具体要说多少次“nice”，但我觉得次数一定少不了。
So: How can one word serve as the appropriate response to both impending doom and caffeine breaks?
那么，这个词怎么能既适用于大难临头的场合，又适用于茶歇时间呢？
According to lexicon history, "nice" has led an erratic existence. Over the years, "nice" has meant everything from "lewd" to "coy" to "kind." Oxford Dictionaries cruises through the meandering history of the word on its blog.
根据词汇历史学，“nice”是一个捉摸不定的词。若干年来，它曾具备各种各样的含义，从“下流的”到“腼腆的”到“和善的”，牛津词典就在博客上回顾了这个词曲折的历史。
The word "nice," Oxford claims, has pretty negative roots in the Latin "nescius," meaning "ignorant." But it really took off in the 14th century as a term for something foolish or silly. The negative connotations ballooned from there. "Nice" was used to refer to a variety of less-than-great sentiments including wantonness, extravagance, ostentation, lasciviousness, cowardice and sloth. Like, "Teobaldus, your fear of the Black Plague is nice."
牛津词典称“nice”一词源自拉丁语里的贬义词“nescius”，意思是“无知的”。但它实际上是从14世纪开始作为表示愚蠢或傻的词汇，而其贬义的内涵也是从那时候开始越来越浓重的。“nice”一词携带了各种不太好的感情色彩，包括“淫乱”、“放纵”、“卖弄”、“好色”、“懦弱”、“懒惰”等含义。举个毛栗子：“提奥巴杜斯，你害怕黑死病这种事儿是很nice的。”
Dive deeper into the Middle Ages, and the meaning deflated. The word started to hint not at ostentation or cowardice but shyness and reserve; not in a negative way, but certainly not yet positively. Let's call it neutral. Like, "Baignard's goat is nice."
对中世纪挖掘得再深一点，会发现这个词的意义缩水了。它不再有“卖弄”或“懦弱”的意思，而开始表示“羞怯”或“保守”；不算是贬义，但也绝对还没变成褒义词。我们就说它是个中性词吧，例如：“柏格纳德的山羊很nice。”
Folks in the 17th and 18th centuries, though, they loved modesty. (Just consider the clothes.) And as a result, "nice" began to take on a more positive tone. As Oxford points out, "nice" started to connote respectability and virtue, refined taste and polite mannerisms. Like, "Cornelia's lofty neckline and bulbous skirt are nice."
然而，17世纪和18世纪的人喜欢低调（想想他们的衣服就秒懂了）。因此，“nice”这个词开始出现了更为褒义的调调。正如牛津词典指出的，“nice”开始意指“高尚”和“美德”、“雅致的品味”及“礼貌的举止”。例如：“科妮莉娅的高领装和蓬蓬裙很nice。”
By the 19th century, use of the word "nice" was not only loaded with a history of confusing meanings, it was also so ubiquitously tossed about Jane Austen had to pen a quippy bit of dialogue about it. In 1817's Northanger Abbey, character Henry Tilney gently chastises Catherine Morland for her overuse of the word:
到19世纪，“nice”一词不仅因为历史原因具备了诸多令人迷惑的含义，而且它无所不在，随处可用，以至于简·奥斯汀也不得不为此写了一段俏皮的对话。在1817年的《诺桑觉寺》中，亨利·提尔尼就温和地批评了凯瑟琳·莫兰对这个词的滥用：
"And this is a very nice day; and we are taking a very nice walk; and you are two very nice young ladies," he jests. "Oh, it is a very nice word, indeed! It does for everything."
他戏谑道：“今天是个很nice的日子，我们正在很nice地散步，你们是两位很nice的女士。哦，那真的是一个很nice的词！它哪里都能用！”
Fast forward to today, and "nice" is still everywhere. Sure, "nice" tends to mean kind, pleasing, polite and friendly, but it can also still mean something along the lines of "socially acceptable" or even "harmless." Toss a "too" in front of it, and "nice" resembles its earlier definitions: ostentatious or extravagant. Pop an "I guess" after it, and "nice" sounds like a full-fledged neg. Elongate the "I" in it, and "niiice" becomes a knee-jerk response of an adverb like OK.
快进到今天，“nice”依然随处可见。当然，“nice”可以表示“善良的”、“令人愉悦的”、“礼貌的”、“友好的”，但它也还是保留着“社会上普遍接受的”甚至是“无害的”的内涵。在前面加个“too”，它就有了先前的定义：“卖弄的”或“放纵的”。在后面加个“I guess”，“nice”这个词听起来就完全是贬义的了。把中间“i”的音拖长变成“niiice”呢，它就成了一声随口应答，就像“OK”那样。
Basically, the meaninglessness of "nice" is just as confusing as ever. We seem to use the word whenever we don't know what else to say. Because, well, it works.
基本上，“nice”这个词没有什么确定的意义，像从前一样令人迷惑。我们好像只要不知道还能再说什么，就用上这个词——因为，嗯，它就是这么好用。
