no

Forms

no^[1] Old Catalan also wrote non, keeping the -n in proclitic position, especially before a vowel (non o, non és): a document of 1080–1095 has non-o laud ne non-o hautorg, the Homilies d'Organyà non ho farà, and the form lasts into Desclot's chronicle.^[2][3] Coromines rejects the DCVB's remark that no is often pronounced nu in eastern Catalan, finding that only in careless speech, though nu seems fairly widespread in Menorca.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Catalan no, which is inherited from Latin nōn (“not”).^{[2][4][5][6][1]}

The same Latin word is Spanish no, Italian non, French non, Portuguese não, Romanian nu and Occitan non.^[7][8]

The Latin adverb probably comes from Old Latin ⟨noenum⟩, a compound of the negative ne with the neuter of ūnus (“one”), older ⟨oinos⟩, literally “not one”.^[9][5][6][1] Wiktionary takes it back to *né (“not”) and *óynos (“one”).^[1]

Catalan lost final -n generally, but ⟨non⟩ before a verb was proclitic, so its -n was not truly final, and it survived sporadically in all the early texts.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

CICA's earliest record is in a feudal oath of 1028–1047.^[10] The documents of the 11th and 12th centuries in Russell-Gebbett's anthology use it before the verb, sometimes as non: non-o laud ne non-o hautorg “I do not approve it nor authorise it” (1080–1095).^[2] Its use on its own, summing up a negative clause, is recorded from the first monuments.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Jaume I's chronicle already uses dir de no “to refuse”, which Faraudo finds also in Llull and Muntaner.^[2][11] The word became a noun, “a refusal”: Jafuda Bonsenyor's Sentències (1298) say that saying no spares one trouble, and Romeu Llull speaks of un sí e un no.^[11] Before adjectives and nouns it formed negative compounds, as in Marsili's no noblea and los no faels (1314).^[11]

The DCVB records its expletive uses, after verbs of fear and in the second term of an unequal comparison, its reinforcement with pas, and its use as a question tag asking for confirmation.^[4] Labèrnia (1839) gives the interrogative no?.^[12] Fabra's grammar of 1912 deals with the double negative and the expletive no.^[2] The verb desnonar is recorded in 1390.^[5]

Timeline

• 1028–1047 – earliest record in CICA, in a feudal oath.^[10]
• 1080–1095 – non-o laud ne non-o hautorg in a document.^[2]
• 1298 – Jafuda Bonsenyor's Sentències morals use no as a noun.^[11]
• 1314 – Marsili's chronicle has no noblea.^[11]
• 1390 – first record of desnonar.^[5]
• 1696 – Lacavalleria quotes Això li és molest, a mi no.^[2]
• 1839 – Labèrnia records the interrogative no?.^[12]
• 1912 – Fabra's Gramàtica catalana describes the expletive no.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. not: negates the verb or the part of the clause it stands before: Avui no plou.^[13][6]
2. Standing alone for a whole negative clause, as an answer: —Vindràs? —No.^[13][4]
3. (expletive) In a clause with the subjunctive after an expression of fear, without negative meaning: Temo que no se'n vagi.^[13][4]
4. (expletive) In the second term of an unequal comparison: Parla més que no treballa.^[13][4]
5. With a questioning intonation, asks for confirmation: Vindràs, no?^[4][12]
6. Reinforced by pas: No ho sé pas.^[4]

Noun

1. A no, a refusal: Va rebre un no per resposta.^[13][11]

Word family

• desnonar
• desnonament

Related words

• nul
• Latin non

Usage notes

When a negative word such as mai or res comes before the verb, the norm keeps no before the verb as well: Mai no es queixa.^[13][2] The Tirant already has the formula lo sí és sí, e lo no és no.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 5, 938
3. ^ Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. non
4. ^ a b c d e f g Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. no
5. ^ a b c d Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 636
6. ^ a b c Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. no
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. non
8. ^ Alibert, Louis (1966), Dictionnaire occitan-français selon les parlers languedociens, Toulouse: Institut d'Études Occitanes, p. s.v. non
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. nōn
10. ^ a b Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. no
11. ^ a b c d e f g Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. no
12. ^ a b c Labèrnia, Pere (1839–1840), Diccionari de la llengua catalana ab la correspondencia castellana y llatina, 2 vols., Barcelona, p. s.v. no
13. ^ a b c d e f Institut d'Estudis Catalans (2007), Diccionari de la llengua catalana, 2nd ed. (DIEC2), Barcelona: Edicions 62; online edition with later updates, https://dlc.iec.cat, p. s.v. no