Indo-European Lexicon
PIE Etymon and IE Reflexes
Below we display: a Proto-Indo-European (PIE) etymon adapted from Pokorny, with our own English gloss; our Semantic Field assignment(s) for the etymon, linked to information about the field(s); an optional Comment; and Reflexes (derived words) in various Indo-European languages, organized by family/group in west-to-east order where Germanic is split into West/North/East families and English, our language of primary emphasis, is artificially separated from West Germanic. IE Reflexes appear most often as single words with any optional letter(s) enclosed in parentheses; but alternative full spellings are separated by '/' and "principal parts" appear in a standard order (e.g. masculine, feminine, and neuter forms) separated by commas.
Reflexes are annotated with: Part-of-Speech and/or other Grammatical feature(s); a short Gloss which, especially for modern English reflexes, may be confined to the oldest sense; and some Source citation(s) with 'LRC' always understood as editor. Keys to PoS/Gram feature abbreviations and Source codes appear below the reflexes; at the end are links to the previous/next etyma [in Pokorny's alphabetic order] that have reflexes.
All reflex pages are currently under active construction; as time goes on, corrections may be made and/or more etyma & reflexes may be added.
Pokorny Etymon: 1. nĕ, nē, nei '(negative particle: no, etc.)'
Semantic Field(s): to Deny, to Refuse, Forbid
Indo-European Reflexes:
| Family/Language | Reflex(es) | PoS/Gram. | Gloss | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | ||||
| Old English: | nā, nō | adj/adv/conj | no; not (at all); nor | ASD |
| nā-hwæðer, nā-wðer, nā-ðor | adv/conj | neither...nor | ASD | |
| nā-læs | adv | not at all, lit. no less | LRC | |
| nān | adj/pron | no, none, lit. not one | ASD/W7 | |
| nā-þing | n | nothing | W7 | |
| nā-wiht, nā-(w)ht, nā-uht | pron | naught, lit. no whit | ASD/W7 | |
| ne | adv | not | LRC | |
| nefne, næfne, nemne | conj | except, unless, if not | ASD/GED | |
| nō-(wi)ht | pron | nought, lit. no whit | ASD/W7 | |
| un- | priv.pfx | un- | ASD/W7 | |
| Middle English: | annullen | vb | to annul | W7 |
| denyen | vb | to deny | W7 | |
| in- | priv.pfx | in- | W7 | |
| naught, nought | pron | naught/nought | W7 | |
| no | adv | no | W7 | |
| non- | priv.pfx | non- | W7 | |
| none | pron | none | W7 | |
| nonsuit | n | nonsuit | W7 | |
| nor | conj | nor | W7 | |
| not | adv/pron | not; nought | W7 | |
| nother | pron/adj | neither | W7 | |
| nothing | pron | nothing | W7 | |
| un- | priv.pfx | un- | W7 | |
| English: | abnegate | vb | to surrender, relinquish | AHD/W7 |
| ahimsa | n | doctrine of not harming any living thing (Hinduism and Buddhism) | AHD/W7 | |
| a(n)- | priv.pfx | not | AHD/W7 | |
| annihilate | vb.trans | to nullify, destroy force/substance of | AHD/W7 | |
| annul | vb.trans | to obliterate, reduce to nothing | AHD/W7 | |
| deny | vb.trans | to declare untrue | AHD/W7 | |
| in- | priv.pfx | not | AHD/W7 | |
| naught, nought | pron | nothing, not aught | AHD/W7 | |
| naughty | adj.arch | wicked, vicious in moral character | AHD/W7 | |
| ne- | pfx | not | TLL | |
| nefarious | adj | heinous, impious, extremely wicked | AHD/CDC | |
| negate | vb.trans | to deny truth/existence of | AHD/W7 | |
| negligee | n | woman's long flowing nightgown | AHD/W7 | |
| negotiate | vb | to confer with another re: settlement | AHD/W7 | |
| nihilism | n | idea that traditional values/beliefs are unfounded and existence is useless/senseless | AHD/W7 | |
| nihility | n | nothingness, nonexistence | AHD | |
| nil | n | zero, nothing | AHD/W7 | |
| nimiety | n | excess, redundancy | AHD/W7 | |
| no | adj/adv/interj | not any; not; negative | AHD/W7 | |
| non- | priv.pfx | not | AHD/W7 | |
| none | pron | not any, lit. not one | AHD/W7 | |
| nonjuror | n | one who refuses oath-taking | AHD | |
| nonplus | n | state of confusion/perplexity/bewilderment | AHD | |
| nonplus | vb | to bewilder, be/put at loss | AHD | |
| nonsuit | n | judgment against plaintiff for failure/inability to prosecute/establish case | AHD/W7 | |
| nor | conj | (also) not | AHD/W7 | |
| not | adv | negative: without, absence/reverse of | AHD | |
| nothing | pron | no thing, not any thing | AHD/W7 | |
| null | adj | invalid, having no legal/binding force | AHD/W7 | |
| nullipara | n | female that has borne no offspring | AHD | |
| renegade | n | deserter from faith/cause/allegiance | AHD/W7 | |
| renege | vb | to deny, renounce | AHD/W7 | |
| un- | priv.pfx | not | AHD/W7 | |
| West Germanic | ||||
| Old Frisian: | nā-wet | pron | naught, lit. no whit | ASD |
| ne | adv | not | ASD | |
| Dutch: | noch | conj | neither, nor | TLL |
| Old Saxon: | ne, ni | adv | not | ASD |
| nēn | adj/pron | no, none | ASD | |
| neō-wiht | pron | naught, lit. no whit | ASD | |
| Old High German: | ne, ni | adv | not | ASD/W7 |
| nein | adj | not one | ASD | |
| neō-wiht | pron | naught, lit. no whit | ASD | |
| un- | priv.pfx | un- | W7 | |
| German: | nein | adv/interj | no | LRC |
| Nihilismus | n.masc | nihilism | W7 | |
| noch | conj | nor | TLL | |
| North Germanic | ||||
| Old Norse: | né | adv/conj | not; nor | LRC |
| Icelandic: | neinn | adj/pron | no, none, lit. not one | ASD |
| East Germanic | ||||
| Gothic: | ni | adv | not | LRC |
| Italic | ||||
| Old Latin: | ne- | priv.pfx | not | W7 |
| nesei | conj | unless, lit. not if | AHD | |
| nihilum | n.neut | nothing | W7 | |
| noenum | adv | not | W7 | |
| Latin: | abnegō, abnegāre | vb | to refuse, abnegate | AHD/ELD |
| dēnegō, dēnegāre | vb | to deny, reject | ELD/W7 | |
| nē | adv/conj | no, not; lest, that not | LRC | |
| nec-, neg- | priv.pfx | no, not | W7 | |
| neglego, neglegere | vb | to neglect | W7 | |
| negō, negāre, negāvī, negātus | vb | to deny | W7 | |
| negotior, negotiāri, negotiātus | vb.dep | to carry on business | W7 | |
| negotium | n.neut | business | W7 | |
| neque | adv/conj | neither ... nor | LRC | |
| neve | conj | and not, nor | LRC | |
| ni | conj | if not, unless | LRC | |
| nihil, nil | n.neut | nothing | W7 | |
| nisi | conj | unless, lit. not if | AHD | |
| non | adv | not | LRC | |
| nonnullus, nonnulla, nonnullum | adj | some, lit. not none | LRC | |
| nullus, nulla, nullum | adj/pron | no, not one; none, not any | LRC | |
| Late Latin: | annihilo, annihilāre, annihilāvī, annihilātus | vb | to reduce to nothing | W7 |
| annullō, annullāre | vb | to annul, cancel | W7 | |
| nimietas | n.fem | being too much | W7 | |
| Medieval Latin: | renegō, renegāre, renegāvī, renegātus | vb | to renege, deny again | W7 |
| Portuguese: | negar | vb | to deny, negate | TLL |
| nem | conj | neither, nor | TLL | |
| Spanish: | negar | vb | to deny, negate | TLL |
| ni | conj | neither, nor | TLL | |
| renegado | n.masc | renegade | W7 | |
| Old French: | annuller | vb | to annul | AHD |
| denier | vb | to deny | W7 | |
| non | interj | no | W7 | |
| Anglo-French: | nounsuyte | n.fem | nonsuit | W7 |
| Middle French: | in- | priv.pfx | in- | W7 |
| non- | priv.pfx | non- | W7 | |
| nul | adj | not anyone | W7 | |
| French: | annuler | vb | to annul, cancel | W7 |
| négligé | n.masc | casual clothes worn inside the house | W7 | |
| négliger | vb | to neglect | W7 | |
| ni | conj | neither, nor | TLL | |
| nier | vb | to deny, negate | TLL | |
| Italian: | nè | conj | neither, nor | TLL |
| negare | vb | to deny, negate | TLL | |
| Baltic | ||||
| Lithuanian: | ne | priv.pcl | not | LRC |
| neĩ | conj | neither, nor | LRC | |
| niẽkas | pron | no one, nobody, nothing | LRC | |
| Latvian: | ne | priv.pcl | not | LRC |
| neviena | pron | nobody, no one, not a single | LRC | |
| Slavic | ||||
| Czech: | neboh | adj | poor, unfortunate, lit. not rich | AHD |
| Old Church Slavonic: | ne | priv.adv/pcl | not; nor | LRC |
| Hellenic | ||||
| Greek: | a(n)- | priv.pfx | not | W7 |
| nē- | priv.pfx | not | W7 | |
| Indic | ||||
| Sanskrit: | a(n)- | priv.pfx | not | W7 |
| ahimsā | n | noninjury, doctrine of refraining from harming living beings | W7 | |
Key to Part-of-Speech/Grammatical feature abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| adj | = | adjective |
| adv | = | adverb(ial) |
| arch | = | archaic |
| conj | = | conjunction |
| dep | = | deponent |
| fem | = | feminine (gender) |
| interj | = | interjection |
| masc | = | masculine (gender) |
| n | = | noun |
| neut | = | neuter (gender) |
| pcl | = | particle |
| pfx | = | prefix |
| priv | = | privative (i.e., negative) |
| pron | = | pronoun |
| trans | = | transitive |
| vb | = | verb |
Key to information Source codes (always with 'LRC' as editor):
| Code | Citation | |
|---|---|---|
| AHD | = | Calvert Watkins: The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed. (2000) |
| ASD | = | Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller: An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (1898) |
| CDC | = | W.D. Whitney and B.E. Smith: The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia (1889-1911) |
| ELD | = | Charlton T. Lewis: An Elementary Latin Dictionary (1999) |
| GED | = | Winfred P. Lehmann: A Gothic Etymological Dictionary (1986) |
| LRC | = | Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas, Austin |
| TLL | = | Frederick Bodmer: The Loom of Language (1944) |
| W7 | = | Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary (1963) |
