unnichev.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈniːʃ/, /(ˌ)ʌnˈnɪtʃ/, U.S. /ˌənˈnɪtʃ/, /ˌənˈniʃ/ transitive. To remove from a niche. Chiefly figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > make humble [verb (transitive)]
edmodienc1175
lowc1175
meekc1175
lessa1382
abatec1390
abasea1393
belowc1400
meekenc1400
disadvance?c1425
simplec1450
lowlyc1485
humilea1492
chasten1526
to pare the nails ofa1549
lessen1579
vail1582
to take (something) a hole lower1591
destate1615
humblea1616
thorough-humblea1617
humiliate1656
level1712
unnichea1751
to level up, down1791
unpedestal1821
to take the starch out of1830
a1751 Visct. Bolingbroke Lett. Study Hist. (1752) iv. 101 He and other learned men of the Roman church have thought it of service to their cause..to depose, or to unniche, according to the French expression, now and then a reputed saint.
1771 Sel. Ess. from Batchelor (1772) 24 It is my ambition to un-nich Saint Charles, and place him in his proper rank.
1828 J. Britton Archit. Antiq. Normandy 38 On each side of the door-way..the saints have been unniched.
1867 Southern Rev. Oct. 436 Even the poor old gods of Greece and Rome cannot be unniched from their Pantheon without leaving an unsightly blank.
1996 Advertiser (Austral.) (Nexis) 8 June Stone has begun to un-niche herself by turning into something we didn't expect: an actress.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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v.a1751