nithing
A coward, a dastard; a wretch.
archaic
To call a Dane a nithing, was like ſetting fire to gunpowder, and inſtantly excited ſuch a flame of rage, as nothing but his own blood or the blood of the offender could extinguiſh [...].
A wicked person; also, one who has acted immorally or unlawfully.
archaic
And for the moment, though he [Sweyn II of Denmark] escaped as usual to Baldwin [V, Count of Flanders]'s land and dwelt at Bruges, he was solemnly proclaimed a nithing or vile person (the most ignominious term in the Teutonic vocabulary) by the whole host, with the king, his brother-in-law, at their head.
Where it comes from
From Middle English nithing, nithinc, nything, nythyng, nythynge, niþinge, nyþing, nyþyng, Early Middle English niðing, niþinc, niþincke (“coward, wretch; good-for-nothing; term of address for a boy or lad; stingy or miserly person; niggardly, miserly, stingy”), from Late Old English nithing, Old English niðing, nīþing (“coward; wretch; outlaw, villain”), from a North Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *nīþą (“envy; hate; malice”) (from Proto-Indo-European *neyH- (“to be angry”)) + *-ingō, *-ungō (suffix forming gerund nouns from verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish nidding, Late Latin nidingus, nithingus, Middle High German nīdinc, nīdunc (modern German Neiding (“(archaic) one who is envious”)), Old Norse níðingr (Icelandic níðingur (“scoundrel, rascal”), Norwegian niding), Old Swedish nīþinger (modern Swedish niding).
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry nithing (CC BY-SA 4.0).