Nihil

[Latin, Nothing.] The abbreviated designation of a statement filed by a sheriff or constable with a court describing his or her unsuccessful attempts to serve a writ, notice, or process upon the designated person.

The complete phrase nihil est refers to a failure to serve any writ while the term nihil habet describes the failure to serve a writ Scire Facias or another writ.

The term nil is a contracted form of nihil.

---

nihil (ni [as in it]-hill) n. Latin for nothing.