Where does “not” come from?

not (Old Dutch) comes from Proto-West Germanic *naudi, from Proto-Germanic naudiz — need; trouble, distress; compulsion, force.

not (Old Dutch): need, necessity

Definitions

  1. need, necessity

Ancestry of “not”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanic*naudiforce, compulsion
2Proto-Germanicnaudizneed; trouble, distress; compulsion, force
Every word from Proto-Germanic naudiz →Every word from Proto-West Germanic *naudi →