Nib
/nɪb/noun
The pointed tip of a pen, especially a fountain pen.
Did you know?English nib likely traces back to a word for a bird’s beak, because the pen tip was imagined as a little pointed mouth for ink.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
neb
“nose; beak; face”
Middle English
ME
nebbe / nibbe
“beak or tip; also the point of a pen”
16th Century
English
nib
“the pointed end of a pen nib”
Modern English
English
nib
“the metal point of a pen that delivers ink”