entry
no
/noʊ/Negative answer, refusal, or absence of any
From Proto-Indo-European ne (not) + Proto-Germanic aye (ever).
from Proto-Germanic *ne (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old High German ne , Gothic ni "not")
from Proto-Germanic *ne (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old High German ne , Gothic ni "not")
from Proto-Germanic *ne (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old High German ne , Gothic ni "not")
from Middle English no, noo, na, a reduced form of none, noon, nan (“none, not any”) used before consonants (compare a...
from Proto-Germanic *naiwô (“never”)
from Middle English no, noo, na, a reduced form of none, noon, nan (“none, not any”) used before consonants (compare a...
from Middle English no, noo, na, a reduced form of none, noon, nan (“none, not any”) used before consonants (compare a...
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Germanic *ne (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old High German ne , Gothic ni "not")
from Proto-Germanic *ne (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old High German ne , Gothic ni "not")
from Proto-Germanic *ne (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian, Old High German ne , Gothic ni "not")
from Middle English no, noo, na, a reduced form of none, noon, nan (“none, not any”) used before consonants (compare a...
from Proto-Germanic *naiwô (“never”)
from Middle English no, noo, na, a reduced form of none, noon, nan (“none, not any”) used before consonants (compare a...
from Middle English no, noo, na, a reduced form of none, noon, nan (“none, not any”) used before consonants (compare a...
A tiny English “no” carries two very old ideas at once: the blunt Proto-Indo-European negator *né and a Germanic word associated with “ever” or “eternity.” In Old English, forms such as nā meant “no, not ever,” while nān meant “not any”—the ancestor of the distinction that eventually gave English both no and none. That makes a refusal sound faintly cosmic: not now, not ever. The second element is related to the same ancient family that produced aye, Latin aevum (“eternity”), and Greek αἰών (aiōn), the source of eon; however, the modern affirmative aye may itself have arisen through several competing routes, including influence from yea or “I assent.” By the 1580s, no had become a noun for a denial or negative vote, proving that even a one-syllable refusal can acquire parliamentary paperwork.
The Story
A tiny English “no” carries two very old ideas at once: the blunt Proto-Indo-European negator *né and a Germanic word associated with “ever” or “eternity.” In Old English, forms such as nā meant “no, not ever,” while nān meant “not any”—the ancestor of the distinction that eventually gave English both no and none. That makes a refusal sound faintly cosmic: not now, not ever. The second element is related to the same ancient family that produced aye, Latin aevum (“eternity”), and Greek αἰών (aiōn), the source of eon; however, the modern affirmative aye may itself have arisen through several competing routes, including influence from yea or “I assent.” By the 1580s, no had become a noun for a denial or negative vote, proving that even a one-syllable refusal can acquire parliamentary paperwork.
Modern Usage
An emphatic or deliberately curt refusal, sometimes used humorously online
Kin & Kindred
From 'ne'·not, negation
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'aye'·ever, always, eternity
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary