cannot English · revision 3424

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1400|origins=en can}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ˈkæn.ɒt/, /ˈkæn.ət/, US /ˈkæn.ɑːt/, /kəˈnɑːt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a way of writing [[can]] [[not]] as one word, from Middle English.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 1989) Old English expressed the idea with ne cunnan.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 1400,^(Etymonline) or the 15th century in Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED treats ''cannot'' as the ordinary modern way of writing ''can not''.^(OED 1989) In speech it is usually contracted to [[can't]].^(Roach et al. 2011) The typical representation of the Scottish pronunciation is ''canna''.^(Etymonline) ''Cannot but'', “cannot help”, is an established idiom.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1400 – ''cannot''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # The negative form of [[can]]: to be unable to; not to be allowed to.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[can]]

+ * [[can't]]

+ * [[not]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary notes that ''cannot but'' has been criticized as a double negative, perhaps through confusion with ''can but''; in ''cannot but'' the ''but'' means “except”, as in ''no one but''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}