not

not

See also: Appendix:Variations of "not"

Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Nomatsiguenga.

Symbol

not

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Nomatsiguenga.

See also

  • Wiktionary’s coverage of Nomatsiguenga terms

English

Etymology

    From Middle English not, nat, a variant of noght, naht (not, nothing), from Old English *nōht, nāht (nought, nothing), shortening of nōwiht, nāwiht (nothing, literally not anything), corresponding to ne (not) + ōwiht, āwiht (anything), corresponding to ā (ever, always) + wiht (thing, creature).

    Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (not), Saterland Frisian nit (not), West Frisian net (not), Dutch niet (not), German nicht (not). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.

    Pronunciation

    Adverb

    not (not comparable)

    1. Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
      Did you take out the trash? — No, I did not. I do not think it was my turn, was it?
      Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
      It was felt desirable that she not leave school before fourteen.
      I'd rather MoM (did) not stay, cuz the best thing about a holiday is not working.
      Not a day passes when I don't regret not having enrolled in medicine.
    2. To no degree.
      That is not red; it's green.
      • 1984 December 22, John Stout, “Home for the Holidays: Survival Strategies for Gays”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 23, page 5:
        Expectation: Everybody in the family has to love everybody else.
        Reaction: Not the ghost of Christmas past, present, or future could pull this one off unless feeling is already there.
    3. (litotes) Used to indicate the opposite or near opposite, often in a form of understatement.
      That day was not the best day of my life. (meaning the day was bad or awful)
      It was not my favorite movie of all time. (meaning the speaker dislikes or strongly dislikes the movie)
      In the not too distant future my view on the matter might be not a million miles away from yours.
      I wonder if I shouldn't see a doctor - I've been feeling funny the last few days.
    4. Used before a determiner phrase, a pronominal phrase etc. to convey a negative attitude (e.g. denial, sadness, anger) towards something.
      Oh god, not that! Anything but that!
      Not another rainy day!
    5. (ironic, informal, originally African-American Vernacular) Used before a non-finite clause (especially a gerund-participial clause) or less commonly a determiner phrase to ironically convey some attitude (e.g. surprise, incredulity, amusement, embarrassment) towards something. [attested since the late 2000s, popularized around 2020][1][2]
      Not me writing example sentences again.Oh my, there I go writing example sentences again!
      • 2023 July 8, @brielarson [Brie Larson], Twitter[1]:
        Not me crying by the end of that!! You are a brilliant, beautiful human who deserves no less than the world. Thank you for taking the time to watch unicorn store. It’s a film that means so much to me.
      • 2023 December 9, “Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson: A Complete Relationship Timeline”, in Glamour[2]:
        [Keke] Palmer tells Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager to “mind y'all's business” when they ask about her relationship with [Darius] Jackson. ¶ “Not y’all trying to get into it! They trying it on the Today show,” Palmer joked when the subject was first brought up on Today With Hoda & Jenna.

    Usage notes

    In modern usage, do-support requires that the form do not ... (or don’t ...) be preferred to ... not for all but a short list of verbs (be, have, can, could, shall, should, will, would, may, might, must, need, ought):

    • They do not sow. (modern) vs. They sow not. (KJB)

    American usage tends to prefer don’t have or haven’t got to have not or haven’t, except when have is used as an auxiliary (or in the idiom have-not):

    • I don’t have a clue or I haven’t got a clue. (US)
    • I haven’t a clue or I haven’t got a clue. (outside US)
    • I haven’t been to Spain. (universal)

    The verb need is only directly negated when used as an auxiliary; this usage is rare in the US but common elsewhere.

    • You don’t need to trouble yourself. (common in US)
    • You needn’t trouble yourself. (common outside US)
    • I don’t need any eggs today. (universal)

    The verb dare can sometimes be directly negated.

    • I daren't do that.

    The verb do, as a main verb, takes do not.

    • He does not do that.

    In the imperative, all verbs, including be, take do not.

    • Don't do that.
    • Don't be silly. (not *Be not silly.)

    In the infinitive, verbs must be negated directly. In this case not cannot appear after the verb; some authorities recommend placing it before to to avoid a split infinitive, but for most speakers the forms not to do and to not do are more or less interchangeable, with the latter being mostly informal.

    • The objective is not to lose or The objective is to not lose.
    • I wanted not to go or I wanted to not go. (Note the difference between this and I didn't want to go, where want is the verb being negated.)

    In the subjunctive mood, do-support is not used for negation; not is placed by itself, or with should, immediately before the verb it modifies, even be:

    • They suggested that he (should) not do it.
    • The law requires that it (should) not be done.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Conjunction

    not

    1. And not.
      I wanted a plate of shrimp, not a bucket of chicken.
      He painted the car blue and black, not solid purple.
      We can't run this bar without her. Not and raise two kids.

    Usage notes

    • The construction “A, not B” is synonymous with the constructions “A, and not B”; “not B, but A”; and “not B, but rather A”.

    Translations

    Interjection

    not!

    1. (slang) Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically. [chiefly 1990s]
      Coordinate term: just kidding
      Near-synonyms: I don't think; psych; bender (obsolete, UK)
      I really like hanging out with my little brother watching Barney … not!
      Sure, you’re perfect the way you are … not!
      • 1911 March, Zane Grey, “Out on the Field”, in The Young Pitcher, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, →OCLC, page 64:
        You've got a swell chance to make this [baseball] team, you have, not! Third base is my job, Freshie. Why, you tow-head, you couldn't play marbles. You butter-finger, can't you stop anything?
      • 1949, E.E 'Doc' Smith, chapter XIV, in Skylark of Valeron, London: Panther, published 1974, page 134:
        "See?" "Uh-huh! Clear and lucid to the point of limpidity - 'not."
      • 1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 42:
        After Seaworld it was down to Tijuana in Mexico. Charming place - not.
      • 2006 May 2, Steve Goldfarb, “Spilling out drops of wine at the Seder”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated[3] (Usenet):
        Because, of course, sympathy is finite -- and if you use it up on the wrong person then you won't have any left. Not.

    Translations

    See also

    • Appendix:American Dialect Society words of the year

    Noun

    not (plural nots)

    1. An instance of using the word “not”; a negation or denial.
      • 1922 March 4, “Fed on Fear Too Much”, in The Pathfinder, volume 29, number 1470, Washington, D.C.: Pathfinder Publishing Company, page 33:
        The children are taught to be afraid of winter, of war, of death, of hard times, of disease, of examinations. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that children so seldom find the conversation of their elders uplifting. It is full of don’ts, buts and nots.
    2. Alternative letter-case form of NOT (unary operation on logical values that changes true to false, and false to true).

    Usage notes

    Boolean operators and states are commonly written in all uppercase in order to distinguish them from the ordinary uses of the words.

    Translations

    See also

    References

    1. ^ Colin Morris (11 April 2021), “Not them having a whole zoo—the rise of ironic "not"”, in colin_morris
    2. ^ Guilherme M. C. Pereira (19 December 2023), “Not me getting with the times: A new kind of not-fragment in English”, in Yale Working Papers in Grammatical Diversity, volume 5, number 1, Yale University Department of Linguistics

    Further reading

    • not”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

    Anagrams

    Albanian

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈnot/
    • Rhymes: -ot

    Etymology 1

    From a deverbal of Latin natāre, *notāre, compare Italian nuoto. A direct verbal borrowing would have regularly yielded **nëtoj instead of attested notoj, which must be a secondary derivation from the noun. Earliest attestations start with /mn/, likely due rebracketing of expressions such as i bie m not, compare Romanian înota.

    Alternative forms

    • mnotdialectal
    • noddialectal

    Noun

    not m (definite noti)

    1. (uncountable) swim, swimming (act of swimming or ability to swim)
      bëj notto swim
      ra notto swim
      di notto know how to swim
      mësoj notto learn how to swim
    2. (dialectal) swimmer
      Synonym: notar
    Derived terms

    References

    • FGJSSH (1980), page 1270: “nót,~i”; Mann (1948), page 326b: “not”
    • Çabej SE, vol. 6, pages 93f.: “not”
    • Meyer (1891), page 311: “notóń”; Miklosich AF, vol. 2, pages 43f.: “553. natare”; Orel (1998), page 301: “not” — they assume notoj to be primary
    • Bashkimi (1908), page 307b: “not”; Kristoforidhi (1904), page 280: “νοτ-ι”; Weigand (1914), page 63b: “not-i”; Leotti (1916), page 133: “not-i”
    • Rossi (1875), page 838a: “mnòt” — only one to give the sense swimmer, perhaps a mistake; Jungg (1895), page 81b: “mnot”
    • Bardhi (1635), page 64: “natare” → “me raam mnot”, page 72: “obnatare” → “me raam mnot cundre”

    Etymology 2

    Borrowed from Greek νότος (nótos).

    Noun

    not m (dialectal)

    1. southwest wind, libeccio
      Synonym: garbi

    References

    • Mann (1948), page 326b: “not”

    Ambonese Malay

    Etymology

    Probably borrowed from Dutch uitnodiging.

    Verb

    not

    1. to invite

    Noun

    not

    1. invitation
      Beta dapat not par pigi makang patiti.
      I received an invitation for dinner.

    References

    • D. Takaria, C. Pieter (1998), Kamus Bahasa Melayu Ambon-Indonesia[4], Pusat Pembinaan dan Pengembangan Bahasa

    Aromanian

    Etymology 1

    From Greek νότος (nótos).

    Alternative forms

    Noun

    not m

    1. dry wind from the south
    Synonyms
    • iug

    See also

    Etymology 2

    Verb

    not

    1. alternative form of anot to swim

    Etymology 3

    From anot (to swim). Compare Italian nuoto, Portuguese nado.

    Noun

    not m

    1. swim, swimming
    Synonyms
    • notalui

    Danish

    Etymology 1

    From German Nut.

    Noun

    not c (singular definite noten, plural indefinite noter)

    1. (mechanics) A groove.
    Inflection
    Declension of not
    common
    gender
    singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative not noten noter noterne
    genitive nots notens noters noternes

    Etymology 2

    From Norwegian not.

    Noun

    not c or n (singular definite noten or notet, plural indefinite noter or not)

    1. (fishing) seine net
      Synonym: snurpenot
    Inflection
    Declension of not
    common
    gender
    singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative not noten
    notet
    noter
    not
    noterne
    notene
    genitive nots notens
    notets
    noters
    nots
    noternes
    notenes
    Derived terms
    • snurpenot

    Etymology 3

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

    not

    1. imperative of note

    German

    Pronunciation

    Adverb

    not

    1. only used in nottun

    Anagrams

    Icelandic

    Etymology

    From Proto-Germanic *nutą (use, profit).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /nɔːt/
    • Rhymes: -ɔːt

    Noun

    not n pl (plural only, genitive plural nota)

    1. use
      Synonyms: gagn, notkun

    Declension

    Declension of not (pl-only neuter)
    plural
    indefinite definite
    nominative not notin
    accusative not notin
    dative notum notunum
    genitive nota notanna

    Derived terms

    • koma að notum (to be of use, to be useful)

    Further reading

    Indonesian

    Etymology

    From Dutch noot, from Middle Dutch note, from Old French note, from Latin nota. Doublet of nota.

    Pronunciation

    Noun

    not

    1. (music) note, a character, variously formed, to indicate the length of a tone, and variously placed upon the staff to indicate its pitch
      Synonym: titi nada

    Compounds

    • not angka
    • not balok
    • not bantu
    • not bendera
    • not garis
    • not seperdelapan
    • not seperempat
    • not spasi

    Further reading

    Latin

    Pronunciation

    Verb

    nōt

    1. third-person singular perfect active indicative of nōscō

    Lower Tanana

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /nɔtʰ/

    Postposition

    not

    1. alternative form of no (sign of)

    Luxembourgish

    Adjective

    not

    1. strong/weak nominative/accusative neuter singular of no

    Michif

    Etymology

    From Canadian French notre.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [nɔt]

    Determiner

    not m or f (plural noo)

    1. our

    Middle English

    Etymology 1

      Reduction of nought (from Old English nāwiht, nōwiht).

      Alternative forms

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /nɔt/, /nat/

      Adverb

      not

      1. not (negates the accompanying verb)
        Þei ne bileveden hire not.They didn't believe her.
      2. not (to no degree, extent, or way)
        Þou art not weyke.You aren't weak.
      Descendants
      • English: not
      • Geordie: nut
      • Scots: nat (obsolete)
      • Yola: nat
      References

      Noun

      not (uncountable)

      1. nothing, nought
      2. (rare) nobody, no person
      Descendants
      • English: not
      • Scots: nat (obsolete)
      References

      Etymology 2

      From Old English nāt, first and third person singular of nitan, equivalent to ne +‎ woot and ne +‎ witen.

      Alternative forms

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /nɔːt/, /naːt/

      Contraction

      not

      1. contraction of ne +‎ woot, literally not to know.
      Descendants
      References

      Norwegian Nynorsk

      Alternative forms

      • nót (alternative spelling of etymology 1 and 2)

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /nuːt/

      Etymology 1

      From Old Norse nót, from Proto-Germanic *nōtō (net; seine).

      Noun

      not f (definite singular nota, indefinite plural nøter, definite plural nøtene)

      1. (chiefly fishing) a net, seine
      Derived terms
      • dragnot
      • flytenot
      • fløytnot
      • kastenot
      • kilenot
      • laksenot
      • landnot
      • notbas
      • notbruk
      • notfiske
      • nothund
      • notlag
      • notnål
      • notsteng
      • notvarp
      • posenot
      • ringnot
      • sildenot
      • slepenot
      • snurpenot

      Etymology 2

      From Middle Low German.

      Noun

      not f (definite singular nota, indefinite plural noter, definite plural notene)

      1. (carpentry, mechanics) a groove (as used in a tongue and groove joint)
        Coordinate term: fjør
      Derived terms
      • nothøvel

      Etymology 3

      From Old Norse hnot.

      Noun

      not f (definite singular nota, indefinite plural neter, definite plural netene)

      1. (pre-2012) alternative form of nøtt (nut)

      References

      Anagrams

      Old Dutch

      Etymology

      From Proto-West Germanic *naudi, from Proto-Germanic *naudiz.

      Noun

      nōt f

      1. need, necessity
      2. compulsion

      Inflection

      Derived terms

      • ginōdi

      Descendants

      • Middle Dutch: nôot
        • Dutch: nood
          • Afrikaans: nood
          • Negerhollands: nood
          • Papiamentu: nodi
          • Sranan Tongo: nowtu
            • Saramaccan: noútu

      References

      • nōt”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

      Old English

      Alternative forms

      • nōt

      Etymology

      From Latin nota.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /not/
      • Rhymes: -ot

      Noun

      not m (nominative plural notas)

      1. a sign; mark; a mark made on an object

      Declension

      Strong a-stem:

      Descendants

      Old High German

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

      Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *naudi

      Noun

      nōt m

      1. control (by violence), compulsion, coercion, extortion
      2. distress, danger, crisis, both physical and psychological
      3. need, (urgent) necessity
      4. inevitability
      5. force, violence, bluster

      Derived terms

      • ginōt f
      • ginōti (adjective)
      • ginōtmarkunga f
      • ginōtmarkōn (verb)
      • ginōtmez n
      • ginōtmezzunga f
      • ginōtmezzōn (verb)
      • nôtsamanunga f
      • nōtag (adjective)
      • nōtdwingāri m
      • nōten (verb)
      • nōtfesti (adjective)
      • nōtfolgunga f
      • nōtfolgīg (adjective)
      • nōtfriunt m
      • nōtgistallo m
      • nōthaft (adjective)
      • nōtlīh (adverb)
      • nōtmahhunga f
      • nōtmahhīg (adjective)
      • nōtmeior m
      • nōtmez n
      • nōtmezzōn (verb)
      • nōtnemo m
      • nōtnemāri m
      • nōtnumft f
      • nōtnumftlīhho (adverb)
      • nōtnumftāri m
      • nōtnumftīg (adjective)
      • nōtnumftīgo (adverb)
      • nōtnumftīgī f
      • nōtnumo m
      • nōtnāma f
      • nōto (adverb)
      • nōtstallo m
      • nōtsuoh m
      • nōtsuohhâri m
      • nōtsuohhōn (verb)
      • nōtsuona f
      • nōttāt f
      • nōtweg m
      • nōtwegida f
      • nōtwerk n
      • nōtzogōn (verb)
      • nōtēn (verb)
      • nōtīg (adjective)

      References

      Old Irish

      Etymology

      From Proto-Brythonic *nod (compare Middle Welsh not, Welsh nod), from Latin nota.

      Noun

      not f

      1. mark, sign (in writing)
      2. scribal abbreviation

      Descendants

      • Irish: nod
      • Scottish Gaelic: nod

      Further reading

      Old Saxon

      Etymology

      From Proto-West Germanic *naut, from Proto-Germanic *nautą. Cognate with Old English neat, Old Frisian nāt, Dutch noot, Old High German nōz (dialectal German Nos), Old Norse naut.

      Noun

      nōt n

      1. cow, ox, cattle

      Declension

      nōt (neuter a-stem)
      singular plural
      nominative nōt nōt
      accusative nōt nōt
      genitive nōtes nōtō
      dative nōte nōtun
      instrumental

      Descendants

      Old Swedish

      Etymology

      From Old Norse nót, from Proto-Germanic *nōtō.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /noːt/

      Noun

      nōt f

      1. net, seine

      Declension

      Declension of not (strong ō-stem)
      masculine singular plural
      indefinite definite indefinite definite
      nominative nōt nōtin nōtar nōtarnar, nōtanar
      accusative nōt nōtina nōtar nōtarnar, nōtanar
      dative nōt, nōto nōtinni, nōtinne nōtum, nōtom nōtumin, nōtomen
      genitive nōtar nōtarinnar nōta nōtanna

      Descendants

      Romansh

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

        Inherited from Latin nox, from Proto-Italic *nokts, from Proto-Indo-European *nókʷts.

        Noun

        not f (plural nots)

        1. (Puter, Vallader) night

        Scottish Gaelic

        Etymology

        Borrowed from English note. The "money" sense comes from the now-rare £1 note.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /n̪ˠɔht̪/
        • (Lewis) IPA(key): [n̪ˠõht̪], [n̪ˠʊ̃ht̪][1]

        Noun

        not m (genitive singular not, plural notaichean)

        1. (music) note
        2. (money) pound (sterling)

        References

        1. ^ Oftedal, M. (1956), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap

        Swedish

        Etymology 1

        From Old French note (noun), noter (verb), both from Latin nota.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈnuːt/

        Noun

        not c

        1. (music) note.
        2. a short message; note.
        3. (diplomacy) a formal message from a country to another country’s embassy.
        Declension
        Derived terms

        Etymology 2

        From Old Swedish nōt, from Old Norse nót, from Proto-Germanic *nōtō. Related to nät (net).

        Noun

        not c

        1. seine
        Declension

        Etymology 3

        From Low German not, nut. Cognate with German Nut.

        Noun

        not c

        1. (carpentry) groove
          Coordinate term: fjäder
        Declension

        Anagrams

        Tok Pisin

        Etymology

        From English North.

        Noun

        not

        1. North

        Turkish

        Etymology

        From French note.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈnot/
        • Rhymes: -ot

        Noun

        not (definite accusative notu, plural notlar)

        1. a short message; note
          Not: Seni seviyorum.PS: I love you.
        2. grade, score

        Declension

        Declension of not
        singular plural
        nominative not notlar
        definite accusative notu notları
        dative nota notlara
        locative notta notlarda
        ablative nottan notlardan
        genitive notun notların

        Welsh

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /nɔt/

        Etymology 1

        Borrowed from English knot.

        Noun

        not m (plural notiau, not mutable)

        1. (aviation, nautical) knot

        Etymology 2

        Noun

        not

        1. nasal mutation of dot

        Mutation

        Mutated forms of dot
        radical soft nasal aspirate
        dot ddot not unchanged

        Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
        All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.