Etymograph

English

no

No comes from Old English nān ‘none, not any’, from Proto-Germanic *nainaz ‘not any’ (literally ‘not one’), and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynos‘one’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainaz‘one’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nainaz‘not any’literally ‘not one’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nainreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nān‘none, not any’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500noon‘no, not any’
  7. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500no
  8. Englishtodaysame form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁óynos‘one’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ainaz‘one’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*nainaz‘not any’literally ‘not one’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*nainreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nān‘none, not any’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500noon‘no, not any’
  7. Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500no
  8. Englishtodaysame form

The story

Inherited from Middle English no, noo, na, a reduced form of none, noon, nan (‘none, not any’) used before consonants (compare a to an), from Old English nān (‘none, not any’), from Proto-West Germanic *nain, from Proto-Germanic *nainaz (“not any”, literally “not one”), equivalent to ne (‘not’) + a.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ís ‘this, he’

id, universally, yonder, yon, 14 more

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos ‘one’

union, unique, universal, unite, null, uno, triune, 21 more

through Proto-Germanic *ainaz ‘one’

an, one, only, any, eleventh, 3 more

through Old English nān ‘none, not any’

none

Another origin of no

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*né‘not’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ne‘not’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*naiwô‘never’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*naiwōreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150nā‘no, not, not ever, never’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500no
  7. Englishtodaysame form

Another origin of no

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE(in) numerō‘in number, to the number of’
  2. Englishtodayno

Today it means

det Not any.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos / no

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