English

non-

/ˈnɒn/
Used in the sense of no or none, to show lack of or failure to perform; or in the sense of not, to negate the meaning of the word to which it is prefixed.

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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English non- (“not, lack of, failure to”), from Middle English non (“no, not any; not, not at all”, literally “none”) and Old English nān- (prefix), both from Old English nān (“no, not any”), from Proto-West Germanic *nain, from Proto-Germanic *nainaz (“none, nought, zero”), see none. Merged with and reinforced by Middle English non- (“not”), from Old French non- and Medieval Latin nōn (“not”), from Old Latin noinu, noinom, from ne oinom (“not one”).

    Etymology 2

    From Latin nōnus (“ninth”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishnon-
      • derivedMiddle Englishnon
        • inheritedOld Englishnān
      • inheritedOld Englishnān-
    • derivedLatinnōnus “ninth”
      • inheritedProto-Italic*nowenos
        • inheritedProto-Indo-European*h₁newn̥(n)ós
          • derivedProto-Indo-European*h₁néwn̥ “nine”

    Sources