Where does “nothing” come from?
Nothing derives from Middle English noon thing and Old English nāþing, meaning no thing or not anything.
nothing (English): API; Not any thing; no thing; An absence of...
Definitions
- API; Not any thing; no thing; An absence of...
Ancestry of “nothing”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | nothyng | — |
| 2 | Old English | nāþing | — |
Words derived from “nothing”