naught etymology

Etymology:

• Middle English nauȝt, naut, from Old English nāwiht, nōhwiht, a compound of nē ("not") + āwiht ("a whit," "anything").
• The negative particle "nē" is cognates with Latin "nē," Greek "oὐ (ou)," Sanskrit "na," and Proto-Indo-European "ne."
• "Āwiht" is derived from Proto-Germanic *aihwati ("anything"), related to the words "ought" and "owe."

Meaning and Origin:

• Meaning: Nothing, nothing at all, zero.
• Origin: The original Old English word "nāwiht" meant "not a whit" or "not anything," emphasizing the absolute absence or insignificance of something.
• Over time, the word evolved to mean "nothing" in general, and "naught" became synonymous with "zero" in mathematics.
• The use of "naught" as a mathematical term dates back to the 16th century, and it was widely adopted as the symbol "0" in the 17th century.

naught relate terms

• naughty

  Etymology The word naughty is derived from the Middle English word naughte meaning

• naught

  Etymology Middle English nauȝt naut from Old English nāwiht nōhwiht a compound o

• nought

  Etymology The word nought has its origins in the Old English word nawiht which origi

• naught

  Etymology Middle English nauȝt naut from Old English nāwiht nōhwiht a compound o

• wight

  Etymology of Wight The word wight comes from the Old English word wiht which meant

• aught

  Etymology The word aught comes from Middle English aught which in turn derived from

• miscarry

  Etymology Middle English miscarien from Old French mescharrier miscarry fail mism

• zero

  Etymology From the Latin word zero which may have originated from the Arabic word ص

• haught

  Etymology The word haught is derived from the Middle English word haught which in tu

• quench

  Etymology Quench ultimately comes from the Proto Indo European root sweŋ meaning to

• cipher

  Etymology The word cipher comes from the Old French word chifre which in turn comes

• zilch

  Etymology and Origin The word zilch originated in the German language where it was fir

• nothing

  Etymology and Meaning of Nothing The word nothing is a compound word consisting of t