English

don't

/dəʊnt/
Do not (negative auxiliary).

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    From do + -n't.

    Depending on dialect, its use in the third-person singular may be from elision (in these dialects does is used when not in the negative) or from not using -s to mark the third-person singular at all.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • partEnglishdo “A syntactic marker in a question whose main verb is not another auxiliary verb or be.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishdon “to put on”
        • inheritedOld Englishdōn
        • inheritedOld Englishdōn on
      • derivedLatinDominus “The Lord”
    • partEnglish-n't “Negates the meaning of the clause in which it occurs.”
      • derivedEnglishnot “Negates the meaning of the modified verb.”
        • inheritedMiddle Englishnot

    Sources