Where does “naught” come from?
Naught comes from Middle English naht, from Old English nyht meaning "night," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European nókʷts with the prefix ne- meaning "not."
naught (English): Nothing; Nothingness; Alternative spelling of...
Definitions
- Nothing; Nothingness; Alternative spelling of...
Ancestry of “naught”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | naught | Alternative form of nought |
| 2 | Old English | nāwiht | nothing, naught |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *naiwwiht | — |
Words derived from “naught”