Where does “not” come from?
not (Old Swedish) comes from Old Norse nót, from Proto-Germanic nōtō, from Proto-Indo-European nōd- — knot, net; knot; net.
Ancestry of “not”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Norse | nót | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | nōtō | net, seine |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | nōd- | knot, net; knot; net |