Etymologically
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non

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Pronunciation

  • /non/, [no.n‿], [ˈnon.nə̆][1]

Forms

non[1] Old forms include nom, nun and, with an added final vowel, none and nonne; joined to an unstressed pronoun it gave nol, nollo, nolla, noi “not it, not him”.[2][3][4] Tuscan also has the short form un.[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin nōn (“not”).[6][7][8][1] The Latin word comes from ⟨*ne oinom⟩ “not one”, from the negative particle ne and the archaic neuter of ūnus (“one”), still seen in the old forms ⟨noenum⟩ and ⟨noenu⟩.[6][7][2] Wiktionary calls the origin uncertain and also mentions a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *nó-h₁ ne (“not at all”).[1]

The word is panromance: French ne and non, Occitan no, Catalan no, Spanish no, Portuguese não, Sardinian non, Romanian nu and, at Veglia, Dalmatian naun.[7][5][9] In part of the Romance area it split into an unstressed form before the verb (Italian and Sardinian “non”, French “ne”) and a stressed form that negates a whole sentence (Italian and Sardinian no, French “non”).[7] Devoto explains that the final “-n”, lost in “no”, was kept in “non” because the word leans on the first syllable of the next word.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nocentini dates the first record to 1065;[7][6] DELI's first record is the Ritmo laurenziano of the late 12th century, where non already negates the verb it precedes.[7][6] Sabatini–Coletti gives the 9th century and GRADIT the 13th.[3][8]

Semantic evolution

Non has always stood immediately before the verb, separated from it only by unstressed pronouns (non lo vedo); in older and literary use it could fuse with them, as in Dante's nol niega “does not deny it”.[2][11][3] With the infinitive it forms the negative imperative of the second person singular (non correre!, “don't run!”), and it combines with nessuno, niente and mai in double negation.[8][12]

Compounds and phrases with non entered the language from the 14th century: nonché (about 1300), nondimeno, nonostante and non so che “a certain something”.[7] Before nouns, adjectives and participles it forms negative compounds (non fumatori “non-smokers”, non residente), as in learned formations from Latin non.[13][4]

Timeline

  • 1065 – First record according to Nocentini.[7]
  • Late 12th century – The Ritmo laurenziano uses non.[6]
  • c. 1300 – Nonché is first recorded.[7]
  • 14th century – Nondimeno, nonostante and non so che are recorded.[7]
  • 1842 – Nossignore is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. not: negates the verb it precedes, or the whole sentence: non posso.[8][12][1]
  2. With the infinitive, forms the negative imperative of the second person singular: non farlo!.[8][12]
  3. In rhetorical questions, expects a yes: non te l'avevo detto?.[8][12]
  4. With mica, affatto or a negative pronoun, in emphatic or double negation: non vedo nessuno.[8][13]
  5. Opposes two terms: non bello ma ricco.[12][11]
  6. Before nouns, adjectives and participles, forms negative compounds; non-, un-: non fumatori.[13][1]

Word family

  • nonché
  • nondimeno
  • nonostante
  • non so che

Usage notes

Fixed phrases include non c'è di che “don't mention it”, in men che non si dica “in no time” and che è, che non è “all of a sudden”.[11][13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
  3. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
  4. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2596
  5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  6. ^ a b c d e Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e f g De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
  10. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier, p. 297
  11. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
  12. ^ a b c d e Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  13. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana