not
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English not, nat, variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), short for nōwiht, nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “not anything”), corresponding to ne (“not”) + ōwiht, āwiht (“anything”), corresponding to ā (“ever, always”) + wiht (“thing, creature”).
Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (“not”), Saterland Frisian nit (“not”), West Frisian net (“not”), Dutch niet (“not”), German nicht (“not”). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.
Alternatively, from Middle English ne (“not”) or none + oughte (“ought, should”), with the latter reinforcing the former.
Pronunciation
edit- (UK)
- (US)
- (Ireland)
- (General Australian)
- Homophone: knot
- Homophones: naught, nought (cot–caught merger)
- Rhymes: -ɒt
Adverb
editnot (not comparable)
- Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
- 1973 November 17, Richard Milhous Nixon, Orlando press conference:
- 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, London: Heinemann, →OCLC, page 59:
- The sound of Abba singing 'Dancing Queen' had started up in a room the other side of the court. Adrian slammed the window shut.
‘That'll teach you to throw things out of the window,’ said Gary.
‘It'll teach me not to throw things out of the window.’
- 1998 January 26, William Jefferson Clinton, White House press conference:
- I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.
- 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
- Did you take out the trash? No, I did not.
- Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
- To no degree.
- That is not red; it's green.
- (litotes) Used to indicate the opposite or near opposite, often in a form of understatement.
- That day was not the best day of my life. (meaning the day was bad or awful)
- It was not my favorite movie of all time. (meaning the speaker dislikes or strongly dislikes the movie)
- In the not too distant future my view on the matter might be not a million miles away from yours.
- Used before a noun phrase or pronominal phrase to denote an aversion to its presence or occurrence.
- Oh god, not that! Anything but that!
- (informal) Used before a determiner phrase or a non-finite clause (especially a gerund-participial clause) to convey some attitude (such as surprise, criticism, or embarrassment) towards someone or something, without conveying negation. [attested since the late 2000s, popularized around 2020][1]
- Not me writing example sentences again! (≈Oh my, there I go writing example sentences again!)
- 2023 December 9, “Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson: A Complete Relationship Timeline”, in Glamour[1]:
- [Keke] Palmer tells Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager to “mind y'all's business” when they ask about her relationship with [Darius] Jackson. ¶ “Not y’all trying to get into it! They trying it on the Today show,” Palmer joked when the subject was first brought up on Today With Hoda & Jenna.
Usage notes
editIn modern usage, do-support requires that the form do not ... (or don’t ...) be preferred to ... not for all but a short list of verbs (be, have, can, shall, will, would, may, must, need, ought):
- They do not sow. (modern) vs. They sow not. (KJB)
American usage tends to prefer don’t have or haven’t got to have not or haven’t, except when have is used as an auxiliary (or in the idiom have-not):
- I don’t have a clue or I haven’t got a clue. (US)
- I haven’t a clue or I haven’t got a clue. (outside US)
- I haven’t been to Spain. (universal)
The verb need is only directly negated when used as an auxiliary; this usage is rare in the US but common elsewhere.
- You don’t need to trouble yourself. (common in US)
- You needn’t trouble yourself. (common outside US)
- I don’t need any eggs today. (universal)
The verb dare can sometimes be directly negated.
- I daren't do that.
The verb do, as a main verb, takes do not.
- He does not do that.
In the imperative, all verbs, including be, take do not.
- Don't do that.
- Don't be silly. (not *Be not silly.)
In the infinitive, verbs must be negated directly. In this case not cannot appear after the verb; some authorities recommend placing it before to to avoid a split infinitive, but for most speakers the forms not to do and to not do are more or less interchangeable, with the latter being mostly informal.
- The objective is not to lose or The objective is to not lose.
- I wanted not to go or I wanted to not go. (Note the difference between this and I didn't want to go, where want is the verb being negated.)
In the subjunctive mood, do-support is not used for negation; not is placed by itself, or with should, immediately before the verb it modifies, even be:
- They suggested that he (should) not do it.
- The law requires that it (should) not be done.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
edit
|
Conjunction
editnot
- And not.
- I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken.
- He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple.
Usage notes
edit- The construction “A, not B” is synonymous with the constructions “A, and not B”; “not B, but A”; and “not B, but rather A”.
Translations
edit
|
Interjection
editnot!
- (slang) Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically. [chiefly 1990s]
- I really like hanging out with my little brother watching Barney … not!
- Sure, you’re perfect the way you are … not!
- 1911 March, Zane Grey, “Out on the Field”, in The Young Pitcher, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 64:
- You've got a swell chance to make this [baseball] team, you have, not! Third base is my job, Freshie. Why, you tow-head, you couldn't play marbles. You butter-finger, can't you stop anything?
- 1949, E.E 'Doc' Smith, chapter XIV, in Skylark of Valeron, London: Panther, published 1974, page 134:
- "See?" "Uh-huh! Clear and lucid to the point of limpidity - 'not."
Synonyms
editTranslations
editSee also
editNoun
editnot (plural nots)
- Alternative letter-case form of NOT
Usage notes
editBoolean operators and states are commonly written in all uppercase in order to distinguish them from the ordinary uses of the words.
Translations
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ Guilherme M. C. Pereira (2023 December 19) “Not me getting with the times: A new kind of not-fragment in English”, in Yale Working Papers in Grammatical Diversity, volume 5, number 1, Yale University Department of Linguistics
Further reading
edit- “not”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
editAlbanian
editEtymology
editFrom notoj.
Noun
editnot m
Related terms
editAmbonese Malay
editEtymology
editProbably borrowed from Dutch uitnodiging.
Verb
editnot
- to invite
Noun
editnot
- invitation
- Beta dapat not par pigi makang patiti.
- I received an invitation for dinner.
References
edit- D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998) Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia[3], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa
Aromanian
editEtymology 1
editAlternative forms
editNoun
editnot m
- dry wind from the south
Synonyms
editSee also
editEtymology 2
editVerb
editnot first-singular present indicative
Etymology 3
editFrom anot (“to swim”). Compare Italian nuoto, Portuguese nado.
Noun
editnot m
Synonyms
editDanish
editEtymology 1
editNoun
editnot c (singular definite noten, plural indefinite noter)
Inflection
editEtymology 2
editNoun
editnot c or n (singular definite noten or notet, plural indefinite noter or not)
Inflection
editDerived terms
editEtymology 3
editSee the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
editnot
- imperative of note
German
editPronunciation
editAdverb
editnot
- Only used in nottun
Icelandic
editPronunciation
editNoun
editnot n pl (plurale tantum)
Declension
editSynonyms
editDerived terms
edit- koma að notum (to be of use, to be useful)
Related terms
edit- nota (“to use”)
Indonesian
editEtymology
editFrom Dutch noot, from Middle Dutch note, from Old French note, from Latin nota. Doublet of nota.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editnot
- (music) note, a character, variously formed, to indicate the length of a tone, and variously placed upon the staff to indicate its pitch.
- Synonym: titi nada
Compounds
editFurther reading
edit- “not” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.
Luxembourgish
editAdjective
editnot
Middle English
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editReduction of nought (from Old English nāwiht, nōwiht).
Alternative forms
editAdverb
editnot
- not (negates the accompanying verb)
- Þei ne bileveden hire not. ― They didn't believe her.
- not (to no degree, extent, or way)
- Þou art not weyke. ― You aren't weak.
- c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)[4], published c. 1410, Joon ·i· 5:3, page 115v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
- foꝛ þis is þe charite of god .· þat we kepe hiſe comaundementis / ⁊ his maundementis ben not heuy.
- Now this is the love of God: us keeping his commandments. And his commandments aren't onerous.
Descendants
editReferences
edit- “not, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Noun
editnot (uncountable)
Descendants
editReferences
edit- “not, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
editFrom Old English nāt, first and third person singular of nitan, equivalent to ne + woot and ne + witen.
Alternative forms
editContraction
editnot
- Contraction of ne woot; not to know.
- 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “(please specify the story)”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:
- I noot which was the fairer of hem two
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Related terms
editNorwegian Nynorsk
editAlternative forms
edit- nót (alternative spelling of etymology 1 and 2)
Pronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom Old Norse nót, from Proto-Germanic *nōtō (“net; seine”).
Noun
editnot f (definite singular nota, indefinite plural nøter, definite plural nøtene)
Derived terms
editEtymology 2
editFrom Middle Low German.
Noun
editnot f (definite singular nota, indefinite plural noter, definite plural notene)
- (carpentry, mechanics) a groove (as used in a tongue and groove joint)
- Coordinate term: fjør
Derived terms
editEtymology 3
editNoun
editnot f (definite singular nota, indefinite plural neter, definite plural netene)
References
edit- “not” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Anagrams
editOld English
editAlternative forms
edit- nōt
Etymology
editPronunciation
editNoun
editnot m (nominative plural notas)
Declension
editDescendants
editOld Swedish
editEtymology
editFrom Old Norse nót, from Proto-Germanic *nōtō.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editnōt f
Declension
editDescendants
edit- Swedish: not
Romansch
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editFrom Latin noctem, accusative of nox, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.
Noun
editnot f (plural nots)
Scottish Gaelic
editPronunciation
editNoun
editnot m (genitive singular not, plural notaichean)
- Alternative form of nota
Swedish
editEtymology 1
editFrom Old French note (noun), noter (verb), both from Latin nota.
Pronunciation
editNoun
editnot c
- (music) note.
- a short message; note.
- (diplomacy) a formal message from a country to another country’s embassy.
Declension
editDeclension of not | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | not | noten | noter | noterna |
Genitive | nots | notens | noters | noternas |
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editEtymology 2
editRelated to nät (“net”).
Noun
editnot c
Declension
editDeclension of not | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | not | noten | notar | notarna |
Genitive | nots | notens | notars | notarnas |
Anagrams
editTok Pisin
editEtymology
editNoun
editnot
Turkish
editEtymology
editPronunciation
editNoun
editnot (definite accusative notu, plural notlar)
Declension
editInflection | ||
---|---|---|
Nominative | not | |
Definite accusative | notu | |
Singular | Plural | |
Nominative | not | notlar |
Definite accusative | notu | notları |
Dative | nota | notlara |
Locative | notta | notlarda |
Ablative | nottan | notlardan |
Genitive | notun | notların |
Welsh
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editNoun
editnot m (plural notiau, not mutable)
Etymology 2
editNoun
editnot
- Nasal mutation of dot.
Mutation
edit- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- Rhymes:English/ɒt
- Rhymes:English/ɒt/1 syllable
- English lemmas
- English adverbs
- English uncomparable adverbs
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English litotes
- English informal terms
- English conjunctions
- English interjections
- English slang
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English degree adverbs
- Albanian lemmas
- Albanian nouns
- Albanian masculine nouns
- Ambonese Malay terms borrowed from Dutch
- Ambonese Malay terms derived from Dutch
- Ambonese Malay lemmas
- Ambonese Malay verbs
- Ambonese Malay nouns
- Ambonese Malay terms with usage examples
- Aromanian terms borrowed from Greek
- Aromanian terms derived from Greek
- Aromanian lemmas
- Aromanian nouns
- Aromanian masculine nouns
- Aromanian verbs
- Danish terms derived from German
- Danish lemmas
- Danish nouns
- Danish common-gender nouns
- da:Mechanics
- Danish terms derived from Norwegian
- Danish neuter nouns
- Danish nouns with multiple genders
- da:Fishing
- Danish non-lemma forms
- Danish verb forms
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- Rhymes:German/oːt
- Rhymes:German/oːt/1 syllable
- German lemmas
- German adverbs
- Icelandic 1-syllable words
- Icelandic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ɔːt
- Rhymes:Icelandic/ɔːt/1 syllable
- Icelandic lemmas
- Icelandic nouns
- Icelandic neuter nouns
- Icelandic pluralia tantum
- Indonesian terms borrowed from Dutch
- Indonesian terms derived from Dutch
- Indonesian terms derived from Middle Dutch
- Indonesian terms derived from Old French
- Indonesian terms derived from Latin
- Indonesian doublets
- Indonesian 1-syllable words
- Indonesian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Indonesian lemmas
- Indonesian nouns
- id:Music
- Luxembourgish non-lemma forms
- Luxembourgish adjective forms
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English adverbs
- Middle English terms with usage examples
- Middle English terms with quotations
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English uncountable nouns
- Middle English terms with rare senses
- Middle English compound terms
- Middle English non-lemma forms
- Middle English contractions
- enm:Zero
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms with IPA pronunciation
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Old Norse
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Norwegian Nynorsk lemmas
- Norwegian Nynorsk nouns
- Norwegian Nynorsk feminine nouns
- nn:Fishing
- Norwegian Nynorsk terms derived from Middle Low German
- nn:Carpentry
- nn:Mechanics
- Norwegian Nynorsk pre-2012 forms
- Old English terms derived from Latin
- Old English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old English lemmas
- Old English nouns
- Old English masculine nouns
- Old English masculine a-stem nouns
- Old Swedish terms inherited from Old Norse
- Old Swedish terms derived from Old Norse
- Old Swedish terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- Old Swedish terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- Old Swedish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Old Swedish lemmas
- Old Swedish nouns
- Old Swedish feminine nouns
- Old Swedish ō-stem nouns
- Romansch terms inherited from Latin
- Romansch terms derived from Latin
- Romansch terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Romansch terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Romansch lemmas
- Romansch nouns
- Romansch feminine nouns
- Puter Romansch
- Vallader Romansch
- rm:Time
- Scottish Gaelic terms with IPA pronunciation
- Scottish Gaelic lemmas
- Scottish Gaelic nouns
- Scottish Gaelic masculine nouns
- Swedish terms derived from Old French
- Swedish terms derived from Latin
- Swedish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish nouns
- Swedish common-gender nouns
- sv:Music
- sv:Diplomacy
- Tok Pisin terms derived from English
- Tok Pisin lemmas
- Tok Pisin nouns
- tpi:Compass points
- Turkish terms borrowed from French
- Turkish terms derived from French
- Turkish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Turkish/ot
- Rhymes:Turkish/ot/1 syllable
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish nouns
- Turkish terms with usage examples
- Welsh terms with IPA pronunciation
- Welsh terms borrowed from English
- Welsh terms derived from English
- Welsh lemmas
- Welsh nouns
- Welsh countable nouns
- Welsh non-mutable terms
- Welsh masculine nouns
- cy:Aviation
- cy:Nautical
- Welsh non-lemma forms
- Welsh mutated nouns
- Welsh nasal-mutation forms