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necne

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word necne

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Latin (neque,-ne)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nec
French ni
Latin necdum
Latin necne

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈnɛk.nɛ][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈnɛk.ne][1]

Forms

necne [1]

Etymology

It is from Latin nec (“and not, not”) + -ne.[2][1][3][4] De Vaan derives ⟨neque⟩ from Proto-Italic *ne-kʷe (“and not”), from Proto-Indo-European *ne (“not”), like Oscan nep (“not”) and Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌷 (nih, “and not”); ⟨nec⟩ is its shortened form, and also a simple “not”, which may have a separate origin.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest examples are from Plautus, in indirect questions: “whether he was born or not, I don't know for sure”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means “or not” in the second half of a disjunctive question.[2][4] It is mostly used in indirect questions, either alone (Plautus, Terence, Cato) or after -ne, utrum or an, as in Cicero's “I shall ask whether you bought it or not”.[2] In direct questions it is rarer: Cicero's “are these your words or not?”.[2]

Church Latin has it for “or not”;[6] in Medieval Latin it could also stand for necnōn, “also, likewise”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus in indirect questions.[2][3]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero in direct and indirect questions.[2][3]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. Or not, in the second part of a question.[2][4][1][6]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Also, likewise (for necnōn).[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Necne.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/necne. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·