Etymologically
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ne

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Pronunciation

Forms

ne[1] Old French non (842), no (881), ne (10th century) and, before a vowel, nen (about 1050).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French ne, inherited from Latin nōn (“not”), with a special development due to its place in front of the verb, where it was unstressed.[2][5][3][6] “Non” weakened to nen before a vowel, a form that survived after the Middle Ages only in nenni, and lost its nasal ending before a consonant, giving “no” and “ne”.[3][7] “Ne” gradually replaced the other forms.[3] The stressed form of the same word is non.[8][6] In old texts “ne” often means “nor”: in that use it comes from nec (“and not”), the source of ni.[9][6]

Cognate with Italian non, Spanish no and Old Occitan no.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Strasbourg Oaths (842) still have the full form non in this position: si jo returnar non l'int pois “if I cannot turn him away from it”.[2][9] Ne is found in the first half of the 10th century, in the Jonas fragment.[2]

Semantic evolution

From the 11th century plain ne was felt to be too weak, and it was strengthened by nouns meaning a tiny amount, which gradually became negative grammatical words: pas, point, mie, goutte, rien, and by adverbs such as guère, jamais and plus.[3] This combination of ne with such particles is found only in Gallo-Romance.[6] All the uses of the word were settled by the 12th century.[3]

Plain ne survived in some set uses (je ne sais, n'importe, je ne puis).[3][8] In familiar speech ne tends to disappear in favour of the stressed particles, especially pas.[3][6]

Timeline

  • 842 – Non before the verb in the Strasbourg Oaths.[2]
  • 881 – No in the Sequence of Saint Eulalia.[3][4]
  • first half of 10th century – Ne in the Jonas fragment.[2]
  • c. 1050 – Nen before a vowel and elided n’ in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • 11th century – Ne begins to be reinforced by pas, point, mie.[3]

Meanings

Particle

  1. not: with a second word, forms the negation of a verb: ne… pas, ne… jamais, ne… rien.[8][1]
  2. (literary) Not, used alone with a few verbs (cesser, oser, pouvoir, savoir): je ne sais.[8][9]
  3. Ne… que: only: il n'a que dix ans.[2][8]
  4. (expletive) Used without negative force in some subordinate clauses, after verbs of fearing and after comparisons: je crains qu'il ne vienne.[1][2]

Usage notes

Ne is elided to n’ before a vowel or mute h; only object pronouns can come between it and the verb (je ne le veux pas).[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 183b
  6. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette