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Origin and history of not

not(adv.)

negative particle, a word expressing negation, denial, refusal, or prohibition, mid-13c., unstressed variant of noht, naht "in no way" (see naught). As an interjection to negate what was said before or reveal it as sarcasm, it is attested by 1900, popularized 1989 by "Wayne's World" sketches on "Saturday Night Live" TV show.

Not, spoken with emphasis, often stands for the negation of a whole sentence referred to: as, I hope not (that is, I hope that the state of things you describe does not exist). [Century Dictionary, 1895]

To not know X from Y (one's ass from one's elbow, shit from Shinola, etc.) was a construction attested from c. 1930 in modern use; but compare Middle English not know an A from a windmill (c. 1400). Double negative construction not un- was derided by Orwell, but is persistent and ancient in English, popular with Milton and the Anglo-Saxon poets.

also from mid-13c.

Entries linking to not

naught(n.)

mid-14c., "evil, an evil act," also " a trifle," c. 1400, "nothingness;" early 15c., in arithmetic, "the number zero;" from noht, naht (pron.) "nothing" (late 12c.), from Old English nawiht "nothing," literally "no whit," from na "no" (from PIE root *ne- "not") + wiht "thing, creature, being" (see wight). Also see nought.

Cognate with Old Saxon neowiht "nothing," Old High German niwiht, Gothic ni waihts, Dutch niet, German nicht. It also developed an adjectival sense in Old English, "good for nothing," which by mid-16c. had focused to "morally bad, wicked," though the modern adjective is naughty.

cannot(v.)

a way of writing can not, c. 1400, from can (v.1) + not. Old English expressed the notion by ne cunnan. The typical representation of the Scottish pronunciation is canna.

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have-not
"poor person," 1742, from have + not. Have in the sense of "one who 'has,' one of the wealthier class of persons" is from the same source. Earliest in translation of "Don Quixote: 'There are but two families in the world, as my grandmother used to say; "the Have's and the Have-n
notwithstanding
a negative present participle used as a quasi-preposition, originally and properly two words, late 14c., notwiþstondynge "in spite of, despite," from not + present participle of the verb withstand. It has the old "against" sense of with. A loan-translation of Medieval Latin non o
inarticulate
c. 1600, "not clear or intelligible" (of speech); "not jointed or hinged, not composed of segments connected by joints" (...in biology), from Late Latin inarticulatus "not articulate, not distinct," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + articulatus, past...Of persons, "not able to speak clearly," 1754. Related: Inarticulately; inarticulateness; inarticulable....
neither
"not one or the other," Middle English neither, naither, nether, from Old English nawþer, contraction of nahwæþer, literally..."not of two," from na "no" (from PIE root *ne- "not") + hwæþer "which of two" (see whether)....Meaning "not in any case, in no case, not at all" is from 1550s. Also used in late Old English as a pronoun....As an adjective, "not either," mid-14c....
neglect
attention or care;" from Latin neglectus, past participle of neglegere "to make light of, disregard, be indifferent to, not...heed, not trouble oneself about," literally "not to pick up," variant of neclegere, from Old Latin nec "not" (from PIE root...*ne- "not") + legere "pick up, select," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather."...
ain't
1706, originally a contraction of am not, and considered proper as such until in early 19c. it began to be also a generic...contraction of are not, is not, has not, etc....Bartlett ("Dictionary of Americanisms," 1848) reports that hain't for "have not" is "A contraction much used in common conversation...
normalcy
  America’s present need is not heroics, but healing; not nostrums, but normalcy; not revolution, but restoration;...not agitation, but adjustment; not surgery, but serenity; not the dramatic, but the dispassionate; not experiment, but equipoise...; not submergence in internationality, but sustainment in triumphant nationality....
respite
mid-13c., "extension of time for an action, deliberation, etc., grace period; postponement of an action, judgment, etc.," from Old French respit "delay, respect" (Modern French répit), from Latin respectus "consideration, recourse, regard," literally "act of looking back (or ofte
essay
1590s, "trial, attempt, endeavor," also "short, discursive literary composition" (first attested in writings of Francis Bacon, probably in imitation of Montaigne), from French essai "trial, attempt, essay" (in Old French from 12c.), from Late Latin exagium "a weighing, a weight,"
altruism
1853, "unselfishness, devotion to the welfare of others, the opposite of egoism," from French altruisme, coined or popularized 1830 by French philosopher Auguste Comte, with -ism + autrui (Old French altrui) "of or to others," from Latin alteri, dative of alter "other" (see alter

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