Where does “Not” come from?
Not (German) comes from Middle High German nōt, from Old High German nōt, from Proto-West Germanic *naudi, from Proto-Germanic naudiz — need; trouble, distress; compulsion, force.
Ancestry of “Not”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle High German | nōt | — |
| 2 | Old High German | nōt | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | *naudi | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | naudiz | need; trouble, distress; compulsion, force |