nothing English · revision 1813

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 888 (Old English)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈnʌθ.ɪŋ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|nothing]], earlier [[m|enm|nathing]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|nāþing]], also written as two words [[m|ang|nān þing]],^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) a compound, [[af|ang|nān|þing|t1=not one, no|t2=thing]],^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) that is, [[none]] and [[thing]].^(Barnhart 1995) It was written as two words at first.^(SOED 2002)^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Not anything (Old English, about 888).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old and Middle English ''nothing'' was often accompanied by another negative, a use that survives in dialect and nonstandard speech.^(OED 1989) It has been used as an adverb, “not at all, in no degree”, since late Old English.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) As a noun it meant “that which does not exist” from 1535^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED) and “zero” from the 15th century.^(HTOED) The sense “a trifle, a thing of no importance” is first recorded in Shakespeare's ''All's Well That Ends Well'' (1601).^(Barnhart 1988) The dictionaries disagree on the adjective “insignificant, worthless”: Merriam-Webster dates it from 1611 and Barnhart from 1961.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) Among later phrases, ''nothing to write home about'' arose among soldiers of the First World War (1917), and ''nothing to it'', of something easy, is from 1925.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 888 – not anything.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1000 – Old English ''nāthing''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1200 – adverb, not at all.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1300 – ''for nothing''.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1425 – zero.^(HTOED)

+ * 1535 – that which does not exist.^(MWU 2024)^(HTOED)

+ * 1601 – a trifle, a thing of no importance (Shakespeare).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1611 – adjective, worthless (Merriam-Webster, while Barnhart has 1961).^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1917 – ''nothing to write home about''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1925 – ''nothing to it''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # Not anything: ''there was nothing in the box''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # No part or share: ''nothing remains of the house''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Something of no importance or concern: ''it's nothing''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Something that does not exist; [[nothingness]].^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+ # [[Zero]]: ''won three to nothing''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+ # A person or thing of no importance.^(AHD)^(Chambers 2008)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(informal)'' Of no value or importance.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Not at all: ''nothing like as big''.^(AHD)^(COED 2004)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[do-nothing]]

+ * [[nothingness]]

+ * [[all-or-nothing]]

+ * [[good-for-nothing]]

+ * [[know-nothing]]

+ * [[much ado about nothing]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[anything]]

+ * [[everything]]

+ * [[something]]

+ * [[thing]]

+ * [[none]]

+ * [[naught]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ By the traditional rule ''nothing'' takes a singular verb even when followed by a plural noun (''nothing but roses meets the eye'').^(AHD) The Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary notes that the pronunciation with /ɒ/ is increasingly widespread in British English.^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}