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Etymology and origin of the English word no

Pronunciation

no1 not; negative reply

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
725
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *ne-,*aiw-
Etymology tree of no1
inherited borrowed derived
Old English na
English no

Etymology

The negative adverb and reply is inherited from Middle English no, also na,[2][3] inherited from Old English nā, also nō,[4][5][2][6] formed from Old English ne (“not”) + ā (“ever”), so literally "not ever, never".[4][7][5][3] The first element goes back through Proto-Germanic *ne to Proto-Indo-European *ne- (“not”),[4][5] and is cognate with Old High German ne, Old Norse ne and Gothic 𐌽𐌹 (ni), and outside Germanic with Old Irish ní, Latin nē and Lithuanian ne.[5][3][6] The second, a variant related to aye "ever", goes back to Proto-Germanic *aiwi-, from Proto-Indo-European *aiw- (“vital force, life, long life, eternity”).[4][7] Similar compounds are Old Frisian nā, Old Saxon neo and Old High German nio, the source of German nie (“never”), and Old Norse nei (“no”).[5][8] The OED notes that only nā was used for the reply, and that it became no in southern and Midland Middle English, while the north and Scotland kept na.[8][6] Etymonline calls the word ultimately identical with nay.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not, in no way: Old English, in King Alfred's translation of Boethius.[8] Barnhart dates Old English nā, never, no, to before 725 and Middle English no to about 1150.[5] The OED also records the negative reply from Old English.[8]

Semantic evolution

Old English used the word both as a plain "not" and to answer a question in the negative.[8] As "not", it gave way to not and in standard English survives mainly with comparatives (no better, no more), which go back to Old English, and in whether or no, from before 1382;[8][9][7] in Scots, northern English and Caribbean English it is still used for "not".[8] The reply no was also used to question a negative statement from about 1225, to introduce a stronger statement from about 1395 (Chaucer), and to express surprise or dismay from 1880 (Mark Twain).[8] As a noun it meant a denial before 1425 and a negative vote from 1588,[8][4] and since 1657 a person voting against, as in the noes have it.[8][4] The verb, to say no, is recorded from 1820.[8][9] No can do, attested from 1827, began as a phrase of English-speaking Chinese, and no way as a colloquial refusal dates from 1968.[4]

Timeline

  • before 725 – Old English nā, never, not.[5][8]
  • c. 1150 – Middle English no.[5]
  • c. 1225 – questioning a negative statement.[8]
  • before 1382 – whether or no.[8]
  • before 1425 – noun, a denial.[8]
  • 1588 – noun, a negative vote, a refusal.[8][4]
  • 1657 – a person who votes against.[8]
  • 1820 – verb, to say no.[8]
  • 1880 – expressing surprise or dismay.[8]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. Used to give a negative answer, to refuse, or to disagree: No, I won't go.[10][8]
  2. Used, with a questioning tone, to query a negative statement.[10][8]
  3. Expressing surprise, disbelief or dismay: Oh no, I've missed the train![8]

Adverb

  1. Before a comparative, not at all, to no degree: no better than before.[9][8]
  2. whether or no: whether or not.[9][8]

Noun

  1. An answer or vote of no; a refusal.[10][8]
  2. (usually plural) A person who votes against a proposal: The noes have it.[10][8]

Verb

  1. (rare) To say no to; to refuse.[9][8]

Word family

  • natheless
  • nowhither

no2 not any

Confidence
Established
Formation
Clipping
First attested
1131
From
Middle English no
Ultimate origin
Old English nān

Etymology

The determiner meaning "not any" is inherited from Middle English no, a variant of non (modern none) that lost its final -n, at first only before consonants other than h, later everywhere.[8][4][6][7][5] Non goes back to Old English nān (“not one”), formed of ne (“not”) and ān (“one”), so that the determiner is in origin the same word as none.[3][11][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not any: before 1131, according to Barnhart.[5] The OED's earliest examples, from late Old English, use it together with other negatives; without another negative it is recorded about 1175 in the Ormulum.[8]

Semantic evolution

No ultimately became the standard form of the determiner, with none before a noun kept only in archaic or poetic use.[8] No before a noun in a predicate, "certainly not a", is recorded from about 1330, the paired no X, no Y from 1531 (no peny no pardon),[8][4] notices forbidding something (no smoking) from before 1625, slogans of opposition such as no popery from 1813, and the sense "hardly any", as in no time, from 1786.[8] With other negatives, no is now regional and nonstandard.[8]

Timeline

  • before 1131 – not any.[5]
  • c. 1175 – not any, without another negative, in the Ormulum.[8]
  • c. 1330 – not a, certainly not a.[8]
  • 1531 – no X, no Y.[8][4]
  • before 1625 – in notices, no ——, forbidding something.[8]
  • 1786 – hardly any, as in no time.[8]
  • 1813 – in slogans of opposition, as no popery.[8]

Meanings

Determiner

  1. Not any: There is no bread left.[8][9]
  2. Not a; far from being: He is no fool.[8][9]
  3. In notices, saying that something is not allowed: No parking.[8]
  4. Hardly any: They were back in no time.[8]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  11. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Derived terms

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“No.” Etymologically, 2 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/no. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

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