no

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin nōn (“not”).^[2][3][1] In Old Spanish the word was usually Old Spanish non, with ⟨no⟩ beside it: the DEMel counts about 17,800 records of ⟨non⟩ against some 1,700 of ⟨no⟩.^[4][1] García de Diego explains the split by stress: ⟨non⟩ was the unstressed form used before the verb, in Old Castilian as in Old Catalan, and ⟨no⟩ the stressed one, which won.^[5] Coromines notes the same position effect in Catalan, which otherwise drops final /n/: early texts keep ⟨non⟩ before a verb or a pronoun, as in ⟨non ho farà⟩.^[6]

The same Latin word is Portuguese não, Galician non, Catalan no, Occitan non, French non, Italian no and Romanian nu.^[7][1][5] In Asturian, non stands before a pause or with words other than verbs, and nun before a verb or an unstressed pronoun.^[8][9]

The Latin word probably comes from the older noenum, also written noenu.^[10][11] This is usually taken as the negative ne with the neuter of ūnus (“one”), literally “not one”, like nihil from *ne hilum.^[12][13][14] Wiktionary calls the origin uncertain: besides Proto-Indo-European *né (“not”) with *óynos (“one”), it mentions a reduplicated *nó-h₁ ne (“not at all”), compared with Gaulish nane (“not”).^[1] The same negative is in the Latin words behind ni (from nec), ninguno and nunca (from numquam), and in the learned nulo.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates the word to about 950.^[2] The Cantar de mio Cid (c. 1140, known from a 14th-century copy) has the old form in the Burgos scene: „Conbidarle ien de grado, mas ninguno non osava” “they would gladly have invited him, but nobody dared”.^[15] The Auto de los Reyes Magos (c. 1180) already has ⟨no⟩: „No sé quál es achesta strela” “I do not know what this star is”.^[15] In both the word is the plain negation of the verb, as today.^[15]

Semantic evolution

Over the Middle Ages non gave way to no, the stressed form.^[5][4] Alfonso X's prose still writes non, and has no más for “only”.^[16] The old form survives in the plural nones: decir nones “to refuse” in the Quijote, and nones “odd numbers”, short for non pares (1276), recorded by 1611.^[17][2]

Covarrubias (1611) remarks that in Castilian two negatives deny rather than affirm, unlike Latin, and derives nonada “nothing” from the word.^[18] The Diccionario de Autoridades describes it as the particle that denies absolutely, used alone as an answer, in questions that expect a yes, and before a verb followed by nada to strengthen the denial, which it calls a peculiarity of Spanish.^[19] Alemany (1917) adds the expletive no of comparisons, where it can be left out without changing the sense.^[20] The DLE now also lists its use before nouns and adjectives for the absence or opposite of a quality.^[3]

In the Americas the word is recorded from 1493.^[21] No más has a wider use in Mexico, Central America and most of South America, while the Antilles, like Spain, use it only for “only”.^[22] In Bogotá Cuervo noted the dropping of no after hasta: hasta las doce almorcé for hasta las doce no almorcé “I did not have lunch until twelve”.^[23] Román criticised the Chilean habit of ending a sentence with ¿no? to ask for agreement.^[24]

Timeline

• c. 950 – first record of the word.^[2]
• c. 1140 – the Cantar de mio Cid uses the old form non.^[15]
• c. 1180 – the Auto de los Reyes Magos has no.^[15]
• 1250–1279 – Alfonso X's Lapidario writes non and no más “only”.^[16]
• 1276 – non pares “odd (numbers)”, the source of nones.^[2]
• 1493 – first record from the Americas.^[21]
• 1513 – Nebrija's Vocabulario gives Latin non and haud.^[25]
• 1611 – Covarrubias notes the Castilian double negative.^[18]
• 1899 – the Academy's dictionary gives the etymology “Del lat. non”.^[26]

Meanings

Adverb

1. not, no: negates the verb, and stands alone as a negative answer: —¿Te quedas a cenar? —No.^[3][1]
2. Marks a contrast with another element, stated or understood: No lo pintó ella, sino su hermano.^[3]
3. Before a noun, adjective or adverb, marks the absence or the opposite of what it names: una política de no agresión.^[3][17]
4. Introduces questions that expect a yes, often softening a request or a reproach: ¿No te apetece un té?^[3][19]
5. Introduces questions that seek to confirm something believed true: ¿No trabaja tu primo en Sevilla?^[3]
6. Stands before the verb when other negative words follow it: No he visto a nadie.^[3][18]
7. (expletive) After que in comparisons of inequality: Prefiero andar que no esperar el autobús.^[3][20]
8. (expletive) Adds emphasis in exclamations of quantity or quality: ¡Cuánto no habrá sufrido!^[3]

Interjection

1. (tag question) right?, isn't it?: Llegas el lunes, ¿no?^[1][24]

Noun

1. A no, a refusal (plural noes): Su respuesta fue un no tajante.^[1][27]

Word family

• nonada
• nomeolvides

Related words

• ni
• ninguno
• nunca
• nulo
• Latin nōn
• Portuguese não

Usage notes

The noun has the plural noes.^[1] Set phrases include no bien “as soon as” and ¡a que no…!, a challenge daring someone to do something.^[3] The abbreviation no. for número is a separate sign, from Latin numero.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. no
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. no
4. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. no
5. ^ a b c García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 4612
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. non
8. ^ Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (2000), Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana, Uviéu: ALLA; online at https://mas.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu, p. s.v. non
9. ^ Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (2000), Diccionariu de la Llingua Asturiana, Uviéu: ALLA; online at https://mas.academiadelallingua.com/diccionariu, p. s.v. nun
10. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ Gómez de Silva, Guido (1988), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española, México: Fondo de Cultura Económica / El Colegio de México, p. 489
13. ^ Bénaben, Michel (2000), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'espagnol, Paris: Ellipses, p. s.v. no
14. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. non
15. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. no
16. ^ a b Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. no
17. ^ a b Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1905–1906), La lengua de Cervantes: gramática y diccionario de la lengua castellana en El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, 2 vols., Madrid: Jaime Ratés, p. s.v. no
18. ^ a b c Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 1165
19. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 4, 671
20. ^ a b Alemany y Bolufer, José (1917), Diccionario de la lengua española, Barcelona: Ramón Sopena, p. 1198
21. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. no
22. ^ Henríquez Ureña, Pedro (2015), Obras completas, vol. 12: 1936–1940 III, ed. Miguel D. Mena, Santo Domingo: Ministerio de Cultura, p. 136
23. ^ Cuervo, Rufino José (1914), Apuntaciones críticas sobre el lenguaje bogotano, 6th ed., París: A. & R. Roger y F. Chernoviz, p. 259
24. ^ a b Román, Manuel Antonio (1901–1918), Diccionario de chilenismos y de otras voces y locuciones viciosas, 5 vols., Santiago de Chile: Imprenta de San José, p. s.v. no
25. ^ Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 386
26. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 694
27. ^ Wikcionario (Spanish Wiktionary), es.wiktionary.org