Tricia in Cross Oaks, Texas, says that when she was a child, a family friend fondly called her a nitnoy, meaning “a small person.” U.S. soldiers picked this term in Thailand, where nit noi (นิดหน่อย) means “a little bit.” This is part of a complete...
Shannon from Virginia Beach, Virginia, heard nitnoy in the Navy as a word for something small or insignificant, as in a nitnoy problem. The likeliest source is Thai nit-noi, meaning “a little bit,” with a plausible route through U.S. military...

