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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

now

/naʊ/
Present; current.

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    Origin

    From Middle English nou, nu, from Old English nū, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu (“now”), from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”). Doublet of nu ("well?").

    Cognates

    Cognate with Scots noo, nou, now (“now”), Yola neow, now, nowe (“now”), North Frisian nü (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Limburgish noe, Nuu (“now”), Danish and Swedish nu (“now”), Elfdalian nų (“now”), Faroese nú, núgv (“now”), Icelandic nú, núna (“now”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk no, nu, nå (“now”), Gothic 𐌽𐌿 (nu, “now”); also Gaulish nu (“now”), Latin num (“now”), Greek νυν (nyn, “currently, now”), Albanian ni, tani (“now”), Bulgarian ни́не (níne, “currently, now”), Czech nyní (“now”), Old Polish ninie (“now”), Russian но́не (nóne), ны́не (nýne, “now, today”), Ukrainian ни́ні (nýni, “nowadays; today”), Avestan 𐬥𐬏 (nū, “currently, now”), Baluchi نون (nún, “now”), Persian اکنون (aknun / aknūn), کنون (konun), نون (nun / nūn, “now”), Northern Kurdish ana, anaka, anêka, aniha, anika, naga, naha, naka, niha, niho, nika, noke, ئانا (ana), نکا (nka, “now”), Ossetian ныр (nyr, “now”), Hittite 𒆠𒉡𒌦 (ki-nu-un, “now”), Luwian 𒈾𒀀𒉡𒌦 (nānun, “now”), Tocharian A nuṃ (“again, once more”), Tocharian B nano (“again, once more”), Sanskrit नु (nu, “now”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishnou
      • inheritedOld Englishnū
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*nū
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*nu “now”
            • inheritedProto-Indo-European*nū “now”

    Related: English nu (doublet), Scots noo, Yola neow, North Frisian nü, West Frisian no, Dutch nu, German nu, Limburgish noe, da,sv nu, Elfdalian nų, Faroese nú, Icelandic nú, nb,nn no, Gothic 𐌽𐌿, Gaulish nu, Latin num, Greek νυν, Albanian ni, Bulgarian ни́не, Czech nyní, Old Polish ninie, Russian но́не, Ukrainian ни́ні, Avestan 𐬥𐬏

    Words built on it: now-or-never

    Meanings

    adj
    1. Present; current.
    2. Fashionable; popular; up to date; current.
    adv
    1. At the present time.
    2. Used to introduce a point, a qualification of what has previously been said, a remonstration or a rebuke.
    3. Differently from the immediate past; differently from a more remote past or a possible future; differently from all other times.
    4. At the time reached within a narration.
    5. Used to indicate a context of urgency.
    6. At the present point of a recurring cycle or event.
    conj
    1. Since, because, in light of the fact.
    intj
    1. Indicates a signal to begin.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: now