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nec

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word nec

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Clipping
First attested
c. 450 BC, Twelve Tables
Ultimate origin
Latin (neque)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nec
French ni

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈnɛk][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈnɛk][1]

Forms

nec (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is the shortened form of neque, itself from Latin ne- (“not”) + -que (“and”).[1][2][3] De Vaan notes that the word had two uses: the shortened conjunction “and not”, and a simple “not”, common in the oldest Latin.[3] They may be the same word, but the simple negative could also continue *ne-ke, with the particle of hic; in that case negō and neglegō could be formed directly from it.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The simple negative appears in the Twelve Tables: cui suus hērēs nec escit “who has no heir of his own”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin nec is used like neque: “and not”, “nor”, “not … either”, and nec … nec “neither … nor”; the choice between them was largely a matter of sound, but nec became the more common.[2] The old simple negative survives in set phrases and compounds: necopīnāns, negōtium (nec-ōtium), neglegō.[2][4]

Nec nōn (necnōn) means “and also”.[1][5]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – nec “not” in the Twelve Tables.[2][6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ipsus neque amat nec tū crēduās.[2][6]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. And not, nor.[2][7]
  2. nec … nec, neither … nor.[2][7]
  3. Not … either; not even.[2][1]
  4. (archaic) Not.[2][3]
  5. nec nōn, and also, and indeed.[1][5]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Descendants

Cite this entry

“Nec.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nec. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·