ne French · revision 16185

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=842, Serments de Strasbourg|origins=la nōn}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /nə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ne'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|non]] (842), [[m|fro|no]] (881), [[m|fro|ne]] (10th century) and, before a vowel, [[m|fro|nen]] (about 1050).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|ne]], [[inh|la|nōn|t=not]], with a special development due to its place in front of the verb, where it was unstressed.^(TLFi)^(FEW|7, 183b)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) “Non” weakened to [[m|fro|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”, “ne” gradually replaced the other forms.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) The stressed form of the same word is [[non]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) In old texts “ne” often means “nor”: in that use it comes from [[m|la|nec|t=and not]], the source of [[ni]].^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|non]], [[es|no]] and [[pro|no]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==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”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) ''Ne'' is found in the first half of the 10th century, in the Jonas fragment.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==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]].^(DHLF 1992) This combination of ''ne'' with such particles is found only in Gallo-Romance.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) All the uses of the word were settled by the 12th century.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Plain ''ne'' survived in some set uses (''je ne sais'', ''n'importe'', ''je ne puis'').^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) In familiar speech ''ne'' tends to disappear in favour of the stressed particles, especially ''pas''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 842 – ''Non'' before the verb in the Strasbourg Oaths.^(TLFi)

+ * 881 – ''No'' in the ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * first half of 10th century – ''Ne'' in the Jonas fragment.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – ''Nen'' before a vowel and elided ''n''' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 11th century – ''Ne'' begins to be reinforced by ''pas'', ''point'', ''mie''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Particle===

+ # [[m|en|not]]: with a second word, forms the [[m|en|negation]] of a verb: ''ne… pas'', ''ne… jamais'', ''ne… rien''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(literary)'' Not, used alone with a few verbs (''cesser'', ''oser'', ''pouvoir'', ''savoir''): ''je ne sais''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''Ne… que'': only: ''il n'a que dix ans''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(expletive)'' Used without negative force in some subordinate clauses, after verbs of fearing and after comparisons: ''je crains qu'il ne vienne''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[non]]

+ * [[nenni]]

+ * [[ni]]

+ * [[la|nōn]]

+

+ ==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'').^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}