Where does “nowt” come from?

Nowt comes from Old English nyht, from Old Norse naut, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots combining ne (not) with nókʷts (night), originally meaning the negation of daylight.

nowt (English): Naught, nothing; An ox; A herd of cattle

Definitions

Naught, nothing; An ox; A herd of cattle

Ancestry of “nowt”, step by step

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Middle English	nowte	—
2	Old Norse	naut	bull
3	Proto-Germanic	nautą	benefit; profit; foredeal; possession; livestock;...
4	Proto-Indo-European	newd-	to seize; grasp; use; to grasp, seize, use; to...

Every word from Proto-Indo-European newd- →Every word from Proto-Germanic nautą →Every word from Old Norse naut →