not

not

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of not in English

English Online Dictionary. What means not‎? What does not mean?

English

Etymology

From Middle English not, nat, variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), short for 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

  • IPA(key): /nɒt/
    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): [nɒt], [nɒʔ(t)]
    • (Standard Southern British, General Australian) IPA(key): [nɔt], [nɔʔ(t)]
    • (General American) IPA(key): [nɑ̈ʔ(t̚)]
    • (Ireland) IPA(key): [nɞʔt]
    • (Local Dublin) IPA(key): [näʔ]
    • (Canada) IPA(key): [nɒːt], [nɔ̈ʔ]
  • Homophone: knot
  • Homophones: naught, nought (cot–caught merger)
  • Rhymes: -ɒt

Adverb

not (not comparable)

  1. Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
    • 1973 November 17, Richard Milhous Nixon, Orlando press conference:
      People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.
    • 1998 January 26, William Jefferson Clinton, White House press conference:
      I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.
    • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
      Oh, Pete. This is not the gym. — That’s right, Anna. This is the mailroom.
    Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
  2. To no degree.
  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.
  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]
    Not me writing example sentences again. ― Oh my, there I go writing example sentences again!

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, shall, will, would, may, 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

  • could not get elected dogcatcher
  • not again
  • not to put too fine a point on it

Related terms

Translations

Conjunction

not

  1. And not.

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!

  2. (slang) Used to indicate that the previous phrase was meant sarcastically or ironically. [chiefly 1990s]

Synonyms

  • bender, I don't think

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.
  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

Further reading

  • “not”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

  • -ton, NTO, ONT, Ont, Ont., TNO, TON, on't, ton

Albanian

Etymology

From notoj.

Noun

not m

  1. swim

Related terms

  • notoj (“to swim”), bën not (“to swim”)

Ambonese Malay

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Dutch uitnodiging.

Verb

not

  1. to invite

Noun

not

  1. invitation

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

  • Not

Noun

not m

  1. dry wind from the south
Synonyms
  • iug

See also

  • vimtu
  • sud/Sud
  • livã
  • austru

Etymology 2

Verb

not first-singular present indicative

  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)

  2. (mechanics) A groove.
Inflection

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
Derived terms
  • snurpenot

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

not

  1. imperative of note

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /noːt/
  • Rhymes: -oːt

Adverb

not

  1. Only used in nottun

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

Derived terms

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

Related terms

  • nota (“to use”)

Further reading

  • “not” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Indonesian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈnɔt/
  • Hyphenation: not

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

Further reading

  • “not” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Latin

Pronunciation

  • (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈnoːt/, [ˈnoːt̪]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈnot/, [ˈnɔt̪]

Verb

nōt

  1. third-person singular perfect active indicative of nōscō

Luxembourgish

Adjective

not

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

Middle English

Etymology 1

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

Alternative forms

  • nat, note, notte, nate, nut

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 English: nut
  • Scots: nat (obsolete)
  • Yola: nat
References
  • “not, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Noun

not (uncountable)

  1. nothing, nought
  2. (rare) nobody, no person
Descendants
  • English: not
  • Scots: nat (obsolete)
References
  • “not, pron.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

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

Alternative forms

  • noot, note, nat

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /nɔːt/, /naːt/

Contraction

not

  1. Contraction of ne woot; not to know.
Related terms
  • nost
  • nould
Descendants
  • Yola: note
References
  • “witen, v.1”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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

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

  • “not” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

  • nót, nòt, ton, tòn

Old English

Alternative forms

  • nōt

Etymology

From Latin nota.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /not/

Noun

not m (nominative plural notas)

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

Declension

Strong a-stem:

Descendants

  • Middle English: note, noote
    • Scots: note
    • English: note

Old Swedish

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /noːt/

Noun

nōt f

  1. net, seine

Declension

Descendants

  • Swedish: not

Romansch

Alternative forms

  • notg (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran)

Etymology

From Latin noctem, accusative of nox, 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]

Noun

not m (genitive singular not, plural notaichean)

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

References

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
  • vara med på noterna
Related terms
  • notera

Etymology 2

Related to nät (“net”).

Noun

not c

  1. seine
Declension

Anagrams

  • ont, ton

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

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

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.