not
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From 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.
PronunciationEdit
- (Received Pronunciation)
- (General American)
- Rhymes: -ɒt
- Homophone: knot
- Homophone: naught, nought (cot–caught merger)
AdverbEdit
not (not comparable)
- Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
- 1973, Richard Nixon.
- Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.
- Did you take out the trash? No, I did not.
- Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
- 1973, Richard Nixon.
- To no degree
- That is not red; it's orange.
Usage notesEdit
In modern usage, do-support requires that the form do not ... (or don’t ...) is preferred to ... not for all but a short list of verbs (is/am/are/was/were, have/has/had, can/could, shall/should, will/would, may/might, 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, and even this usage is rare, especially in the US.
- You don’t need to trouble yourself. (common)
- You needn’t trouble yourself. (outside US, rare)
- 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.)
Related termsEdit
negates meaning of verb
TranslationsEdit
negates meaning of verb
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ConjunctionEdit
not
- And not.
- I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken.
- He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple.
Usage notesEdit
- The construction “A, not B” is synonymous with the constructions “A, and not B”; “not B, but A”; and “not B, but rather A”.
TranslationsEdit
And not
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InterjectionEdit
not!
- (slang, 1990s) Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically.
- I really like hanging out with my little brother watching Barney... not!
- Sure, you're perfect the way you are... not!
SynonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
Translations
See alsoEdit
NounEdit
not (plural nots)
- Unary logical function NOT, true if input is false, or a gate implementing that negation function.
- You need a not there to conform with the negative logic of the memory chip.
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
ContractionEdit
not
- (obsolete) Contraction of ne wot, wot not; know not; knows not.
- Geoffrey Chaucer's The Knight's Tale.
- I noot which was the fairer of hem two
- Geoffrey Chaucer's The Knight's Tale.
See alsoEdit
See alsoEdit
AnagramsEdit
AlbanianEdit
AromanianEdit
Etymology 1Edit
Alternative formsEdit
NounEdit
not m
- dry wind from the south
SynonymsEdit
See alsoEdit
Etymology 2Edit
VerbEdit
not
Etymology 3Edit
From anot (“I swim”). Compare Italian nuoto, Portuguese nado.
NounEdit
not m
SynonymsEdit
DanishEdit
Etymology 1Edit
NounEdit
not c (singular definite noten, plural indefinite noter)
- (mechanics) A groove.
InflectionEdit
Declension of not
Etymology 2Edit
NounEdit
not class /n (singular definite noten or notet, plural indefinite noter or not)
InflectionEdit
Declension of not
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 3Edit
Non-lemma forms.
VerbEdit
not
- imperative of note
IcelandicEdit
PronunciationEdit
- Rhymes: -ɔːt
NounEdit
not n pl (plurale tantum)
DeclensionEdit
declension of not
Derived termsEdit
- koma að notum (to be of use, to be useful)
LojbanEdit
LuxembourgishEdit
Old EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
NounEdit
not m (nominative plural notas)
DeclensionEdit
Declension of not (strong a-stem)
DescendantsEdit
Old SwedishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Norse nót, from Proto-Germanic *nōtō.
NounEdit
nōt f
DeclensionEdit
Declension of nōt (ō-stem)
| singular | plural | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | nōt | nōtin | nōta(r) | nōtana(r) |
| accusative | nōt | nōtina, -ena | nōta(r) | nōtana(r) |
| dative | nōt | nōtinni, -inne | nōtum, -om | nōtumin, -omen |
| genitive | nōta(r) | nōtinnar | nōta | nōtanna |
DescendantsEdit
- Swedish: not
RomanschEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran) notg
EtymologyEdit
From Latin noctem, accusative of nox, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.
NounEdit
not f (plural nots)
Scottish GaelicEdit
SwedishEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
not c
- (music) note.
- a short message; note.
- (diplomacy) a formal message from a country to another country’s embassy.
DeclensionEdit
| Declension of not | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | not | noten | noter | noterna |
| Genitive | nots | notens | noters | noternas |