daily knowledge: although we think of it as a compliment today, the word "nice" originally had a negative meaning. derived from the latin word nescius (ignorance), to call something nice in the 14th century was to characterize it as foolish, clumsy, stupid or otherwise lacking sense. this definition would shift by the early 1400s to describe something extravagant and overindulgent in luxury, then further to mean reflective of a high social status. by the late 19th century the word "nice" had softened even further to resemble its modern definition, referring to something pleasant and agreeable.
the word "silly" on the other hand started out as a positive term, describing something pure or sympathetic, and gradually went on to become what we know it as today, a synonym of "naive".
nice (pejorative)