nonen.
/nəʊn/, U.S. /noʊn//nuːn/, U.S. /nun/ as a result of the regular effects of the great vowel shift), as are Older Scots examples of this form, and early 16th-cent. examples in senses other than those below. 1. Christian Church. One of the daily offices in the Western Church, forming the fifth of the canonical hours of prayer and originally appointed for the ninth hour of the day (about 3 p.m.); = nones n.3Prime, terce, sext, and none together constituted the Little Hours.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > canonical hours > nones (3 p.m.) > [noun]
noonOE
nones1709
none1845
c1525 Rule St. Francis (Faust.) in J. S. Brewer & R. Howlett Monumenta Franciscana (1882) II. 67 (MED) The lay bretherne shall say xxiiii pater noster for matens..for pryme, terce, sext, and none..vii pater nosters.
1561 Iniunctions Bishop of Norwich sig. B.iii Whether they..vse muche iangling in festiuall daies in ringing none or curphew.
1659 C. Clobery Divine Glimpses 73 Perquire Zoographurs, and none recite, A Romane Pope turn'd willing Anchorite.
1845 J. Lingard Hist. & Antiq. Anglo-Saxon Church (ed. 3) I. vii. 297 The third of these hours was called..terce; the sixth, midday; and the ninth, none.
1907 Catholic Encycl. II. 438/2 The times at which the lesser of the ‘day-hours’ (Prime, Terce, Sext, and None) are to be recited control the hours of labour somewhat.
1937 Sci. Monthly May 394/2 Monastery life in Europe gently marched to matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, vespers and compline.
1971 16th Cent. Ess. & Stud. 2 85 The pristine origins of divine office are mentioned and the practice of praying Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, None, Vespers and Compline are [sic] given historical backing.
1999 D. Sobel Galileo's Daughter (2000) xi. 129 The midday chanting of Saint Clare's own favourite canonical hours of Sext and None.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > day and night > day or daytime > afternoon > [noun]
evenOE
overnoonOE
midovernoona1325
afternoonc1330
mid-afternoona1400
undern1470
after-dinner1576
postmeridian1583
evening1587
post meridiem1647
none1656
noon1667
postnoon1686
aft1772
p.m.1776
after1906
pip emma1912
arvo1933
pee em1933
afty1966
1656 T. Blount Glossographia None of the day, is the third quarter of the day beginning at Noon and lasting till the Sun be gone half way towards setting.
1706 in D. Cotes tr. L. E. Dupin New Eccl. Hist. 16th Cent. II. v. 43 The last [part of the day], which began at the middle of the Afternoon, i.e. at half the Time between Noon and Sun-setting, was called None, because it began at the Ninth Hour.
Compounds
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > bell > [noun] > bell rung for nones
none-bell1853
1853 D. Rock Church our Fathers III. 65 As soon as they hear the none-bell, they take to meat.
ΚΠ
1806 J. Lingard Antiq. Anglo-Saxon Church I. vi. 287 They [sc. the services] were called the uht or morning-song, prime-song, under-song, midday-song, none-song, even-song, and night-song.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
nonepron.adj.adv.
/nʌn/, U.S. /nən/α. Old English–early Middle English (Middle English northern) nan, early Middle English (Middle English northern) nane, Middle English naan (northern), Middle English nain (northern), Middle English neen (northern); English regional (northern) 1600s neane, 1700s–1800s naane, 1700s– naan, 1800s nyen, 1800s– nan, 1800s– neahn, 1800s– neean, 1800s– nin; Scottish pre-1700 nan, pre-1700 nayn, pre-1700 nayne, pre-1700 1700s neane, pre-1700 nein, pre-1700 neyn, pre-1700 neyne, pre-1700 nian, pre-1700 1700s– nane, pre-1700 1800s naen, pre-1700 1900s– nain, pre-1700 1900s– naine, pre-1700 1900s– nen (now Shetland), pre-1700 1900s– nene (now north-eastern), 1700s– neen (now northern); also Irish English 1900s– nane.
β. late Old English–1600s non, early Middle English noan, Middle English noen (perhaps transmission error), Middle English noone, Middle English noun, Middle English noyn, Middle English–1500s noon, Middle English– none, 1500s noyne, 1500s nowne, 1600s non; U.S. regional 1800s noon, 1900s– noan; English regional 1800s noane, 1800s– noan, 1800s– non, 1800s– nooan, 1800s– noon, 1800s– nuon; Scottish pre-1700 noin, pre-1700 non, pre-1700 nonn, pre-1700 nonne, pre-1700 noyn, pre-1700 1700s– none; also Irish English 1800s– noan, 1800s– nown.
A. pron.Many commentators state that none should take singular agreement, but this has generally been less common than plural agreement, especially between the 17th and 19th centuries.
1. Followed by of. In Old English chiefly with genitive.
a. Not any (one) of a number of people or things. Also: neither of two persons or things (now regional).In later use commonly with plural agreement: cf. sense A. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > zero > amount
noneeOE
naughteOE
nilc1550
naughts1559
zeroa1703
α.
β. c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 26589 None of ȝam [c1275 Calig. ne mihten heo..heore nenne adun bringe.]1340 Ayenbite (1866) 64 (MED) Hy ne breken non of his buones.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 5185 (MED) Þan was þar non of al þe wacche þat ys herte ne by-gan to cacche.a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) John xvii. 12 Thilke that thou ȝauest to me Y kepte, and noon of hem perischide.a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 484 That never none of hem sholde fyght agaynste othir.a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 838 (MED) Ne none of vs shal þi frende be.1557 T. North tr. A. de Guevara Diall Princes 4 None of these two were as yet fiftene yeares olde.a1640 W. Fenner Hidden Manna (1652) 28 None of the wicked in all the world know it.1672 H. Dodwell Two Lett. Advice Pref. sig. b2v None of them..ever enduring to hear of any Laical encroachments on the Calling it self.a1774 O. Goldsmith Surv. Exper. Philos. (1776) II. 42 None of these however are known to us.1820 R. Southey Life Wesley I. 400 Except Whitefield, none of them had devoted themselves body and soul to the work.1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 389 None of these was published oftener than twice a week.1885 A. C. Swinburne Misc. (1886) 339 None of their own countrymen were so competent to control, alike by wisdom and by valour.1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart i. vii. 128 We none of us seem to feel very well, and I don't think we want each other to know it.a1963 ‘F. O'Connor’ Genius (1995) 44 None of her features was really bad.1988 Times of India 23 Feb. i. 1/4 None of the family members was seen around the farm since January 22.eOE (Kentish) Will of Abba (Sawyer 1482) in F. E. Harmer Sel. Eng. Hist. Docs. 9th & 10th Cent. (1914) 4 Gif þæt gesele..ðæt ðer ðeara nan ne sie ðe londes weorðe sie.
eOE Battle of Brunanburh (Parker) 25 Myrce ne wyrndon heardes hondplegan hæleþa nanum þæ[ra þe] mid Anlafe..land gesohtun.
OE Ælfric Let. to Sigefyrð (Vitell.) in B. Assmann Angelsächsische Homilien u. Heiligenleben (1889) 23 Heora nan ne sealde swylce leafe næfre.
OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz Regula Canonicorum (Corpus Cambr. 191) xxvii. 225 And þa hwile þe he on þam cwearterne beo, ne geþeode him nan of þære geferrædene to, ne mid spræce, ne mid geþoftscipe.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13931 Ne chæs himm nohht te laferrd crist. Till nan off hise posstless.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 1509 Nulleð heo leaue nenne [c1300 Otho none] of ous a-liue.
c1440 Prose Life Alexander (Thornton) (1913) 14 (MED) Þay schott at hym, bot nane of þam myghte hitt hym.
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 4981 Nane of þair bodys on bra ne banke, Was neuir aftir sene.
c1480 (a1400) Prol. 104 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 4 He had þame inflammyt swa, þat nan of þaim vald part hym fra.
1568 in J. Kinsley Poems W. Dunbar (1979) lxxi. 10 Is nane of ws..Bot laubouris ay for vtheris distructioun.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) II. 26 Thay wer sa haisty.., That nane of thame wald ȝeild.
1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 86 b Þat nain of Christs sacraments ar vsit to saluatione.
1640 King & Poore Northerne Man 346 in W. Hazlitt Early Pop. Poetry IV. 306 I wod all may win and neane of you leese.
1666 in Rothesay Town Council Rec. (1935) I. 128 That he nor nane of his quhom he may stop or latt sall not [etc.]
1721 A. Ramsay Prospect of Plenty 115 Dare she nane of her herrings sell..?
1785 W. Hutton Bran New Wark 15 Hes neane of ye seen a young thing, giggling and laughing?
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian vi, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 143 I want naething frae nane o'ye.
1865 E. Lynn Linton Lizzie Lorton II. 215 I mind when nin on 'us daur say bo til a guse afore my mither.
1949 New Shetlander No. 16. 43 Every man had a dug, though nen o dem wis muckle use.
b. In predicative use, denoting exclusion from a certain class (expressed by a plural or collective noun phrase as complement): not any; not one. Cf. sense A. 3b. Now British regional except with your and noun phrase complement (cf. your adj. 1d).
ΚΠ
a1450 York Plays (1885) 503 Ȝe weryed wightis, ȝe flee hym froo, On his lefte hande as none of his.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 930 The angels seyde thou were none of the seven felysship.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Iiiiiv As though he sayd,..ye were none of my seruauntes.
1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Yvv He wil eate his meate I warraunt you, he is none of those scrupulouse consciences.
1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 143 You are none of those who will finde fault with the Ayre.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iii. ix. 137 Liquor..which, I think, too, none of the most perplexed names of Substances.
1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 94 I am none of their Gang.
1828 C. Lamb Old Margate Hoy in Elia 2nd Ser. 31 He was none of your hesitating half story-tellers.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxviii. 133 Tho' their sons were none of these. View more context for this quotation
1881 B. Preston Poems 3 Ah'm noan o' them At calls at t'time by t'clock.
1910 J. Buchan Prester John vii. 79 Laputa was none of your flabby educated Negroes from America.
1943 M. McLaverty White Mare & Other Stories 15 He was none of your ordinary cocks, for he had a pedigree as long as your arm.
c. Followed by of and a superlative used as a noun. Now rare.
ΚΠ
c1576 T. Whythorne Autobiogr. (1961) 213 Kolēr provoked mee to say sumwhat for short folks, in azmuch az I am nōn of þe tawlest.
1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. E M. Bar. Canst thou read? Nich. Forsooth though none of the best, yet meanly.
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 125 The circuit of the citie, which was none, ywis, of the greatest.
1656 P. Heylyn Surv. Estate France 219 The Jesuits have divers Colledges founded for them, and they are known to be none of the poorest.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. vii. 301 The general Idea of a Triangle, (which is..none of the most..difficult..).
1784 Pennsylvania Gaz. 25 Aug. As your head is none of the best, such a rapid promotion to so elevated a situation would make you giddy.
1814 Ld. Byron Wks. (1837) III. 105 You know, I suppose, that T..is none of the placidest.
1888 H. R. Haggard Mr. Meeson's Will ix His understanding was none of the clearest.
a1984 C. H. Sisson Coll. Poems 216 Mine [sc. his mind] was none of the stablest.
2.
a. With singular agreement. No one, no person, nobody.Now more commonly with plural agreement: see sense A. 2b.second to none: see second adj. 2a.
ΚΠ
α.
β. a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 217 Gif non of him ne spece, non hine ne lufede; Gif non hine ne lufede, non to him ne come.1258 Proclam. Henry III (Bodl.) in Trans. Philol. Soc. 1880–1 (1883) *173 (MED) And noan ne nime of loand ne of eȝte wherþurȝ þis besiȝte muȝe beon let oþer iwersed on onie wise.a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 223 Ne was ðor non lik adam.c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 107 (MED) Non ne may bygge ne selle bot ȝif he haue þe merk.?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 6 To write Inglis gestes fond he non his pere.?c1430 (c1383) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 23 Al-most noon schal be so nyse and worldly proude as þes stynkynge heretikis.1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 1747 I noon but the Know, lorde, that may my comfort be.1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) xxxix. 148 Noon was there, my self nor noon other, that myghte recomforte her.1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lxvv Wysdome wyll that we shulde refrayne From folysshe demynge and nons deth discus.a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. xxviii. sig. Zz4v A vow..that I would neuer marrie none, but such one as was able to with stand me in Armes.1608 T. Heywood Rape of Lucrece sig. C His wilfull edicts..In which nones tongue is powerfull saue the kings.1677 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 37 All from Court say the House will infailibly sit, but none dares warrant how long.1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women I. ii. 74 The ladies..would be the apes of none in dress.1805 T. Harral Scenes of Life I. p. vii Let none attempt to excuse himself.1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud xviii. i, in Maud & Other Poems 56 There is none like her, none.1880 A. C. Swinburne Study of Shakespeare 209 None other..than him~self alone could have mingled..such human passion.1991 E. S. Connell Alchymist's Jrnl. (1992) 8 Dung-prophets! Quack-salvers! None can equal Paracelsus.OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) 67 Æfter þæm nihtsange ne sy nanum alyfed, þæt he ænig word cweþe.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 492 Þatt nan ne shollde wurrþenn..prest butt iff. He prestess sune wære.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 123 (MED) Nes þer nan þet mahte neauer eanes wrenchen hire..ut of þe weie.
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 899 Aȝaines him stod þer nan In land.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 1968 (MED) I bad al-sua Nain be sa bald þat oþer sla.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xi. l. 140 Thow thinkis nan her at suld thi falow be.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 27 Faith is sa neidful that neyne kane be saiff without it.
1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. App. To defende the pure mans cause, quhen thair is nan to take it in hand by him.
1601 J. Melville in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 269 We..returning to our boot sleipit the dead of the night but neidit nan to wakin us.
?a1610 A. Montgomerie Poems (1887) 39 A rose Quhom thou nor nane hes pouer for to broak.
1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd iv. ii. 65 I'll wed nane else.
1792 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum IV. 364 I'll tak Cuckold frae nane, I'll gie Cuckold to nae-body.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. vi. 128 Nane could ever say that o' the trades o' Glasgow.
1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb ii Nane o' that has mair nor twa.
b. With plural agreement. No people.Now the commoner usage, the singular being expressed by no one.
ΚΠ
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 1070 Beleaf þær nan buton an munec.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 31 Ne doð hit none swo ofte se þe hodede.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 766 Alle to gadere he heom nom; nane he ne lafde.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 11396 A folk ferr.., Wonnand be þe est occean, þat bi-yond þam ar wonnand nan.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 108 (MED) Before þe hall dure standez certayne lordes..for to kepe þat nane entre in at þe dure.
1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Norbert (1977) l. 800 Þere is non but he..Doth þat plesaunce.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aiiv Myght none fang it with force bot foullis.
a1533 Ld. Berners tr. Arthur of Brytayn (?1560) lxxxviii. sig. Ai He strake none but that they lost their lyues.
a1641 R. Montagu Acts & Monuments (1642) 65 None have all; all must have some.
1697 J. Dryden Ded. Georgics in tr. Virgil Wks. sig. ¶2 None have been so greedy of Employments..as they who have least deserv'd their Stations.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. ix. i. 310 None are more ignorant of them than those learned Pedants, whose Lives have been entirely consumed in Colleges, and among Books. View more context for this quotation
1759 O. Goldsmith Bee 24 Nov. 227 None but they alone could have either skill or strength to bring the prisoners back again.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 69 None but traitors would barter it away for their own personal advantage. View more context for this quotation
1813 R. Southey Life Nelson I. 37 The contagion had become so general, that there were none who could work at it.
1885 Law Times 80 6/2 None were allowed to let their rooms or take lodgers.
1887 E. C. Stedman Victorian Poets (ed. 13) 37 None but sentimentalists and dilettanti confuse their prose and verse.
1937 W. S. Maugham Theatre ix. 76 It seemed to her that none but she knew what it was like to live with a man who was such a monster of vanity.
1963 Times 4 Mar. 8/5 There are none so deaf as those who will not hear the truth.
2002 Church Times 3 May 15/5 This is of value and service, provided that none imagine that this method is more ‘objective’.
3. With anaphoric or cataphoric reference.
a. Not any (such thing or person as that previously or subsequently mentioned).
ΚΠ
α.
β. a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 243 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 227 (MED) [H]ie secheð reste þar non [v.r. nan] nis.c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 24 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 107 Þat Amiral Ane faire douȝter hadde..none mo for-soþe he nadde.a1325 (?c1300) Northern Passion (Cambr. Gg.1.1) 162 (MED) Þei iyef him..Þrythi plates of god mone..Was þer non [v.rr. none, noen] þat he forsok.c1395 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale 846 Konne he lettrure or konne he noon, As in effect he shal fynde it al oon.?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 2441 I had richesse, now haf I non.c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 165 (MED) The king þought on tresoun and Gamelyn on noon.a1475 Revelations St. Birgitta (Garrett) (1929) 26 God..shewyng by his passyon and deth his love vn-to man, more þan þe which myght noon bee.?c1500 Mary Magdalene (Digby) 501 In wynter a stomachyr, In somer non att al.1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. A.v Better an akyng eye then none.1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. K5v I thinke it is better to haue meane fare then none at all.1658 R. Baxter Of Saving Faith v. 34 A Belief and Love indeed he hath, but morally..it is as none.1697 T. P. Blount Ess. 108 The Egyptians seem to have had only knowledge enough to know that their neighbours had none at all.1718 Free-thinker No. 22. 2 It seems to be a much greater Affront..to have an Ill Opinion of Him, than to have none at all.1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) II. 250 That the cocoa-trees which have houses around their roots become much more beautiful than those where there are none.1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab ii. 21 None but a spirit's eye Might ken that rolling orb.1859 E. FitzGerald tr. Rubáiyát Omar Khayyám xxxix. 9 Better be merry with the fruitful Grape Than sadden after none, or bitter, Fruit.1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xvi. 189 A young cavalry soldier..with an embarrassment which was only the more marked by..the determination upon his face to show none.1937 W. S. Maugham Theatre xi. 90 He waited for some answer from her, but she gave none.1966 I. Murdoch Time of Angels x. 107 The girls had composed a number of thank-you notes, each wittier than the last, but none had been sent yet.1989 Austin (Texas) Amer.-Statesman 29 Apr. b1/6 The state could not release Petty to a community home before 1985 because none were available.OE Blickling Homilies 169 Se þe hæbbe twa tunecan, selle oðre ðam ðe nane næbbe.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 443 Brytwalas..heom fultumes bædon wið Peohtas, ac hi þær nefdon nænne, forþan ðe hi feordodan wið Ætlan.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1116 Þis gear wæs swa gæsne on mæstene, swa þæt on eallon þison lande..ne gehyrde me of nanan segcean.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 15819 Ich habbe lim & stan; on leode nis betere nan.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 157 (MED) Þeruore him ssel eurich more defendi of þo half huer ha yziȝþ þet his castel is mest fyeble and aye þe ilke vice uiȝte huer ha ziȝþ þet he is mest asayled ine zuyche guod þet he ne spari nenne [Fr. nului].
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 201 He bad him gyftis ser. Wallace wald nayne.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 173 For litill enchesone or nane, He was arestyt syne and tane.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 259 Vnwourthy I..Ane kirk dois craif and nane can haue.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 7 The grettest parte of the Ile hes sa plentiful feildes that nane mair plentiful.
c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) i. iv. §10 This symbol can be no reason serve that sound, nor nane of that kynd.
1629 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1852) V. 220 Allexr. Edward and hi wyiff deponit that they brunt nein [sc. peat].
1728 A. Ramsay Poems (1953) II. 223 A Dish of married Love right soon grows cauld, And dosens down to nane, as Fowk grow auld.
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 154 Then, straught or crooked, yird or nane, They roar.
b. In predicative use, denoting lack of the essential qualities of the thing or person mentioned (cf. sense A. 1b): not (one). Now rare (in later use chiefly literary).In quot. 1442 ‘null, of no effect’.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxx. 68 Eala, wuldur þisse weorulde, ea, forhwy þe haten dys[i]ge men mid leasre stemne wuldor, nu ðu n[ane] neart?
c1390 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 3162 Yet nolde I..demen of my self that I were oon; I wol bileue wel that I am noon.
a1425 (?a1400) Cloud of Unknowing (Harl. 674) (1944) 64 Oftymes it befalliþ þat somme, þat haue ben orrible & customable synners, comen sonner to þe perfeccion of þis werk þen þoo þat ben none.
1442 Rolls of Parl. V. 43/2 That it be voide and non in lawe.
c1450 Mandeville's Trav. (Coventry) (1973) 1437 (MED) Þereby men mowe witen anone Wheþer thei ben bastarde or be none.
?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. xii. f. 8 (MED) For þis is contemplacion, and þat oþer is non.
a1525 J. Irland Of Penance & Confession in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 12 Quhat is syn and quhat is nane.
1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Biij They be like those that go for honest men and are none.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 132 Men should be that they seeme, Or those that be not, would they might seeme none . View more context for this quotation
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler To Rdr. sig. A6 How to make a man that was none, an Angler by a book. View more context for this quotation
1776 Ld. Ingram in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1885) II. iii. 132/1 A maiden she is nane.
1822 Ld. Byron Heaven & Earth i. iii, in Liberal 1 191 Turn to thy seraphs; if they attest it not, They are none.
1867 E. H. Plumptre tr. Sophocles Electra in tr. Sophocles Trag. (ed. 2) 222 My mother, wrongly named, For mother she is none, is mad with joy.
1901 F. B. Money-Coutts Nut-brown Maid 19 Who would deny to do as I, True lovers they are none.
c. none of (in predicative use, with singular noun phrase as complement): not at all, not in the least. In later use chiefly U.S. (esp. in African-American usage).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [adverb] > not > not at all
noughteOE
nothingOE
nonewaysc1225
not a dealc1250
nothing soa1393
no-gatea1400
no-gatesa1400
no waya1400
nowaysa1400
riff no raff?a1400
in (also on, by) no kins way(s) (or wise)c1400
nowisec1425
no whitc1520
none1533
never a dysec1540
vengeance1556
in no sort1561
none ofc1571
nil1581
none1651
nowhat1651
nohow1775
du tout1824
nowt1828
nix1862
nary1895
c1400 tr. Aelred of Rievaulx De Institutione Inclusarum (Vernon) (1984) 56 Noon of vre penne or poyntel may owtly wryten it as it is.]
c1571 E. Campion Two Bks. Hist. Ireland (1963) ii. ix. 129 I am non of Henries deputie.
1638 D. Featley Stricturæ in Lyndomastygem i. 81 in H. Lynde Case for Spectacles The Church of Rome I grant is a mother,..but shee is none of our mother.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 455. ¶4 This Match was none of her own choosing.
1764 S. Foote Patron iii. 73 I am determined he shall be none of the man.
1841 S. F. Adams Vivia Perpetua v. ii. 179 Utterly I disclaim All kindred with thee! Blood thou'rt none of mine.
1910 in J. Lomax Cowboy Songs (1931) 87 Git along little dogies, It's your misfortune and none of my own.
1931 L. Hughes & Z. N. Hurston Mule Bone (1991) 66 You ain't none of my mama. My mama is in the store.
1971 G. Mitchell Blow my Blues Away 21 This ain't none of my baby.
4.
a. No part or amount of some thing, quality, etc. In early Middle English also with genitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > zero > no part or amount of something
none?a1200
?a1200 ( tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Harl. 6258B) lxxvi. 20 Harise þa molda of, þæt hyre nan [OE Vitell. nanwiht] on ne cliuiȝe.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2244 Bereð dat siluer hol agon, Ðat hem ðor-of ne wante non.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 9916 (MED) O gret suetnes þar wantes nan.
a1450–1509 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (1913) 3571 (MED) Off þy gold wolde he non.
1493 in T. Thomson Acts Lords Auditors (1839) 172 He sall nocht sell..nane of hir landis.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique i. f. 16 Seleucus woulde none of that in any wyse.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxiiijv This woman wold haue none of all this gere done for her.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 56 Of that there's none, or little. View more context for this quotation
1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. II. 182 But if it cannot bee had without contesting, I will none of it.
1656 A. Wright Five Serm. To Rdr. sig. A6 This Pulpit age hath so much of the New light, as it hath almost none of the Old day of the Gospel.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxix. 169 My Lady said, None of your reproaching Eye, Pamela.
1779 J. Moore View Society & Manners France (1789) II. xcvi. 433 No!..says John, none of your coaxing.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 6 Yet we recognise that none of it was ever the dreary still-birth of a mind of hearsays.
1902 H. James Wings of Dove I. ii. 37 You got, in consequence, none of the peace of your condition.
1945 J. Rhys Lett. (1984) 40 She has none of my fear of life.
1986 D. Madden Hidden Symptoms (1988) 35 Come on now, none of that. Show Theresa the good boy you are.
b. to be none of a person's business: not to be any part of a person's concern. Also as a retort (cf. to mind one's own business at business n. Phrases 5a).
ΚΠ
1713 G. Berkeley Three Dialogues Hylas & Philonous (1910) iii. 244 It is none of my business to plead for novelties and paradoxes.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield 136 The public think nothing about dialect, or humor, or character, for that is none of their business.
1859 Harper's Mag. Apr. 624 She said that it was ‘none of my business’ where she got that bill.
1865 ‘L. Carroll’ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland viii. 113 ‘That's none of your business, Two!’ said Seven.
1926 D. L. Sayers Clouds of Witness i. 31 [He] had thought Wednesday evening's dust-up none of his business.
1986 R. Narayan Talkative Man 38 None of my business, whoever she may be.
1998 J. Holms Bad Vibes vi. 67 Frau Richter was willing to pay her to..poke her nose into something that was none of her business.
c. to have none of it: to refuse or reject something outright.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > refusal > [phrase]
not if I can help it1682
I'll be far (enough) if1752
I'll be shot (occasionally shortened to shot!) if1761
to have none of it1849
not if you paid me1853
not likely1878
that's your problem1951
1849 H. D. Thoreau Week Concord & Merrimack Rivers 295 If Friendship is to rob me of my eyes, if it is to darken the day, I will have none of it.
1903 Daily Chron. 16 Nov. 4/5 Some years ago there was an attempt to introduce the taxameter system, which is the rule in all big German towns. The London cabman would have none of it.
1930 P. G. Wodehouse Very Good, Jeeves x. 263 Her name was Maudie and he loved her dearly, but the family would have none of it. They dug down into the sock and paid her off.
1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes ii. ii. 294 Gerald offered to stay, but Yves would have none of it. ‘I guess I must go through with it alone.’
1992 J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! xix. 171 I tried to coax the old woman into her apartment but she was having none of it.
B. adj. (determiner).In later use the form none (or nane, etc.) occurs mainly before vowels and h, and after 1600 is almost entirely supplanted by the reduced form no (nae, etc.): exceptions are the phrase none effect and before other (see sense A. 2, where its survival may be due to interpreting other as postmodifying a pronominal none). For examples of Old English nan man, nan þing, see none man n., nothing pron. and n.
1. Not any; = no adj. 1. Now archaic and Scottish (rare).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [adjective] > no, none, or not any
nanyeOE
no (none) suchOE
noneOE
none-kinsOE
nolOE
no kina1400
zero1823
nix1846
nought1945
bugger-all1948
damn all1953
fuck-all1961
eff-all1965
zilch1969
zip1969
zippo1973
sod all1978
negative1984
the world > space > place > absence > [adjective] > not any
noneOE
nolOE
α.
β. lOE Permission to ring Bells, Exeter in J. Earle Hand-bk. Land-charters (1888) 260 Þat non man after þys ðas ysettinge undon ne mage.a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 165 Nis nower non trewðe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 5658 Ne nomen heo nonne cniht quic.a1300 Passion our Lord 676 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 56 Hi nolden þo bileue..vor nore pyne heore prechynge.a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 509 Seþþe forsoþe til þis time non vn-teche he ne wrouȝt.a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 505 (MED) Thei ladde a merie lif Which was to kinde non offence.a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 169 Þis lore þat Cristis scole axiþ loveþ none gabbingis.c1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 35 Ȝif þou wolt make it in spycery, þen putte non chykonys þer-to.1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope vi. xv Men ought not to leue none euyll vnpunysshed.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rest of Esther xvi. C Ye shal do well, yf ye holde them of none effecte.1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 91 The vsage of the Church..will prooue it to bee none abuse.a1643 J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 174 You are inimicitious to those that offer you none injury.1739 H. Brooke Let. 7 Oct. in A. P. Jenkins Corr. T. Secker (1991) 44 Shall These Oaths, and These Presentments have none Effect?1755 Connoisseur No. 98. ⁋7 This extravagant and ill-judged Generosity renders all her numerous excellencies of none effect.1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod i. i. 10 Henry the second..endeavoured to render these grants of none effect.1843 C. Mathews Var. Writings 48 I fancy not..being dragged twice through the pond by the same cat. Hanging hath been tried and found of none effect.1863 E. C. Gaskell Sylvia's Lovers I. v. 98 It's noane loss o' time.1905 R. Garnett William Shakespeare Pedagogue & Poacher ii. iii. 101 I..the doom of the inferior magistrate..Do quash, annul, and make of none effect.OE Blickling Homilies 33 Ne þincþ us þæt nan wundor.
OE Blickling Homilies 21 Þæt leoht on nanre tide ne ablinneþ.
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) i. ii. 44 Hwylc neod ys hyt þæt man swa oft do [xxx] to and eft wiðteo þonne þæs geares ne beoð nane epactas?
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 656 Nan man na haue þær nan onsting buton seo abbot & se muneces.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) iii. 9 Þæt was þæt nan anweald nære riht butan rihtum þeawum?
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 273 Nan wihht. nan enngell. nan mann. Ne naness kinness shaffte.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12676 Nes he neuere iboren i nauere nane burȝe. þat mihte þat folc tellen.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9121 Of engelond ne can ich nanne red.
c1390 G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale 4185 And syn I sal haue nan [v.rr. neen, naan, noon; no] amendement Agayn my los, I wil haue esement.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 1 He desserued neuer nane euill.
c1480 (a1400) St. Bartholomew 24 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 180 Of þare god gat þai nan answere.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) viii. i. 106 Thus I declayr the nane vncertane thing.
1570 Let. 27 June in Breadalbane Coll. Documents & Lett. Than nan vnfrendis get the samyn.
1602 in D. Robertson S. Leith Rec. (1911) 3 That nane inhabitant..send thair bairnes to ony vther schoole.
1654 in Rothesay Town Council Rec. (1935) I. 4 Nor nane guidnemet guids or geir.
1982 Eng. World-wide 1 16 Some speakers of Broad Scots have nane (= none) as a quantifier; e.g. He's nane good and There's nane bread.
2. Followed by other.
a. As modifier in a noun phrase. Now poetic and rare.Cf. no nother at nother pron.2 1, none otherwise at otherwise n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > none or not any one of
noneeOE
never, not (etc.) a whit (awhit, a-whit)1523
the world > space > place > absence > [noun] > no one or not any (one)
noneeOE
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. li. 264 Gehwere þonne & þicge & gemenge ær wiþ fletan & nan oþer molcen þicge.
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) iii. 24? Nis soðlice nan oðer Godd ne on heofone ne on eorðan.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) v. 11 Ne gebrohte þe eac nan oðer man on þam gedwolan butan þe sylfum.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5714 Ne þurrh nan oþerr flæshess lusst.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 12628 Nes þer nan oðer andswere.
c1300 St. Brendan (Laud) 618 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 237 (MED) His her tilde doun to is fet..None oþur cloþes nadde he on.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 79 (MED) Uor charite ne is non oþer þing þanne dyere onhede.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1336 As be that weie..Bot trewliche in non othre thinges.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 5 Sorow & site he made, þer was non oþer rede.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 539 Sir Trystram saw none other boote but rode ayenste hym.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. ii. 36 Neuerthelesse they gaue them none other answere.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 146 They perceyued well that there was none other meane.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. ⁋2 Brought to vntimely death for none other fault, but [etc.].
1713 A. Pope Narr. Robert Norris 12 I have none other Disease than a Swelling in my Legs.
1827 R. Southey Hist. Peninsular War II. 287 Those journalists taught..that Europe should have none other Lord but him.
1886 O. F. Adams Post-laureate Idyls 46 None other suit Suits with my sadden'd fortunes like to this Which now I wear.
1929 A. Quiller-Couch Poems 188 None other god will ever choose thee.
b. With other as head of a noun phrase. In later use usually followed by than. Now literary.
(a) Referring to a person or persons.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > no one or nobody
noneeOE
none maneOE
no mana1200
nobodya1400
no onea1538
nullus1842
the world > space > place > absence > [adjective] > persons
noneeOE
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > no one or nobody > no persons
noneeOE
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > no one or nobody > none other
noneeOE
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxvii. 61 Þæt þær nane oðre an ne sæton buton þa weorðestan.
OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xv. 24 Gif ic nane weorc ne worhte on him þe nan oðer ne worhte næfdon hi nane synne.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 1066 He dyde swa mycel to gode..swa nefre nan oðre ne dyde toforen him.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 237 (MED) Ilke þet is uoul ne may nenne oþrenne klensy.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1329 (MED) Malgre wher sche wole or non, Min herte is everemore in on, So that I can non other chese.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 25 (MED) Neuer let youre hert turne to loue none other but me, and therof y am suore.
a1500 Rule Third Order St. Francis in W. W. Seton Two 15th Cent. Franciscan Rules (1914) 54 (MED) A preist of sum religion approued..shall enioyne thame pennaunce..So that none other may execute this office of visitacion vpon theme.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. i. 2 b Of which Religion wer then none other but Portingales.
a1763 W. Shenstone Wks. (1768) II. 186 A man of sense can be adequately esteemed by none other than a man of sense.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 182 If I love not him, I know there is none other I can love.
1956 J. C. Powys Brazen Head (1969) i. 10 This was none other than a gigantic Tartar.
2000 U.S. News & World Rep. 3 Jan. 27/1 The FSB..at that time was still headed by none other than Putin, the former KGB agent and present prime minister.
(b) Referring to a thing, course of action, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > absence > [noun] > no other thing or nothing else
noneeOE
the mind > will > free will > choice or choosing > [noun] > scope for choice > absence of
noneeOE
force-put1658
Hobson's choice1660
put1805
the world > relative properties > relationship > identity > [noun] > the same thing or person
selfeOE
the ilkeOE
same1340
that (or this) same1362
selfsamec1422
one (and the) selfsame1531
none1611
identity1616
same difference1945
eOE Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) iii. lxx. 358 Ete sceapen flæsc & nan oþer.
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 197 DEPONENTIA:..morior ic swelte, mortuus sum on twam uum, swaswa nan oðer.
lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) iii. 66 Ic nan oððer don ne mæg.
c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 30 Heo nan oðer nyston buton heo alle forbeornæn scolden.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Royal) 167 (MED) Nullich þe nan oðer don bute ȝef þu liðe ant leue min lare.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 477 Ne canne ðan non oðer oc remeð mid his broðer.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 2092 þai durste non oþer do but dede hem on gate, & souȝte him wiþ sore hertes.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 4147 (MED) Ruben sagh þair was nanoþer Bot algat for to sla þer broþer.
1476 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 602 I vndyrstand non other but that all folkys here be ryght well dysposyd towardys that mater.
a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) 735* (MED) Dame, now is þar none other to do bot deme it þi seluen.
1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xxviii. 17 This is none other, but the house of God. View more context for this quotation
1645 O. Cromwell Let. 14 June Sir, this is none other but the hand of God.
1806 R. S. Storrs Dialogue ii. 13 They [sc. your sentiments] appear to me none other than the doctrine of devils.
1884 W. Besant Dorothy Forster I. iii. 81 This is none other than the Castle of King Ida.
1909 A. C. Benson Poems 211 That sacred instinct bids you be None other than the thing you are.
2001 P. Ball Bright Earth iii. 85 It has been suggested that this wondrous red substance..was none other than vermilion, the medieval painter's finest red pigment.
3. Placed after (or separated from) the noun. Now rare (Scottish in recent use).
ΚΠ
α.
β. a1275 St. Margaret (Trin. Cambr.) l. 152 in A. S. M. Clark Seint Maregrete & Body & Soul (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 48 To deruen myne soule, pouste nauestou non.a1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Vitell.) (1966) 229 (MED) Hit is..imaked wiþ muchel pruid, Of lym & of marbelston; In Cristiante nis swich non.c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 396 Two dayes and two nightes mete had he noon.a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 15805 Of alle þise, heires com þer non.c1450 (c1375) G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite 148 Neverthelesse, gret wonder was hit noon.c1475 in F. B. Bickley Little Red Bk. Bristol (1900) I. 141 Also right shall I none lett.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Acts iii. A Syluer and golde haue I none.1568 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS f. 231 Sen..that asperans is non vnto [etc.]1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 79 Fortresses they build none.1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads i. 1 Remedy was none.1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 315 Hay for our Horses we got none.1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. ix. 708 Motives to application..can be discovered none.1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 67 Poetry we have almost none.1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche vi. iv. 67 Harbour knew she none, where her distress Might comfort find.1975 A. Deyell My Shetland 19 Butter I had none.OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John x. 41 Multi uenerunt ad eum et dicebant quia iohannes quidem signum fecit nullum : menigo cuomon to him & cuoedon þætte iohannes uutudlice..becon worhte nan.
OE Phoenix 51 Nis þær on þam londe laðgeniðla, ne wop ne wracu, weatacen nan.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7735 & ȝiff ȝho naffde cullfre nan Þa toc ȝho lamb. & turrtle.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 302 Nes castel nan swa strong i þon londe of Griclond.
a1300 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 200 (MED) Idel adh ne swere þu Nan.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 5061 Mi fader..fars well, I watte, Knauing of yours haue i nan.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 140 Housez hafe þai nane.
c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 999 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 325 Vthyr clathis had I nane.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) iv. xii. 27 Geif that neuir nane At our cost had arrivit schip Troiane.
1573 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlii. 154 Suld their pepill Preiching haue nane?
1790 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) II. 510 Sleep I can get nane.
1813 G. Bruce Poems, Ballads, & Songs 13 Hopes I'd nane o' kin' relief.
1924 W. Cumming Swatches o' Hamespun 83 Guile there was neen.
C. adv.† 3. = no adv.1 4. Obsolete.This use may have originated in sentences similar to quot. ?c1450 at sense A. 1aα. : cf. note at no adv.1 4.
1. With comparatives.† a. = no adv.1 2a. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1114 On þison geare heold se cyng Henri his hyred to Natiuiteð on Windlesoran, & þæs geares syððan he ne heold hired nan oftar.
a1275 St. Margaret (Trin. Cambr.) l. 140 in A. S. M. Clark Seint Maregrete & Body & Soul (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 44 Lef on him ant be is wif; no þoele þou so nanmore.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2593 Durste ghe non lengere him for-helen.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 328 (MED) For-þi es godd, als sais scripture, Nan elder þan his creature.
c1425 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Harl.) 17 (MED) Corineus ys swert sone brac, so strong he smot & faste, For no swerd myȝte with ys dunt none lengur laste.
1465 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 314 On Friday last past and non er.
?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) iii. l. 1327 in Shorter Poems (1967) 86 Wele I considerit nene [1579 Edinb. na] vpparmar I mycht.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 548 I neid nane airar myne erand.
c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1921) II. ii. 190 Nane farar thing on erd may ga.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Certain Misc. Tracts (1683) viii. 146 Words..of common use in Norfolk, or peculiar to the East Angle Countries; as..Noneare.
a1774 R. Fergusson Poems (1956) II. 73 Than ours they're nane mair fat and fair.
b. Followed by the (the adv. 1) and comparative: in no way, to no extent (frequently with for). Earliest in nonetheless adv. N.E.D. notes ‘Common in 19th cent., esp. none the better, worse, less.’
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [adverb] > not > not at all
noughteOE
nothingOE
nonewaysc1225
not a dealc1250
nothing soa1393
no-gatea1400
no-gatesa1400
no waya1400
nowaysa1400
riff no raff?a1400
in (also on, by) no kins way(s) (or wise)c1400
nowisec1425
no whitc1520
none1533
never a dysec1540
vengeance1556
in no sort1561
none ofc1571
nil1581
none1651
nowhat1651
nohow1775
du tout1824
nowt1828
nix1862
nary1895
1533 Aberdeen Burgh Rec. in A. J. Mill Mediaeval Plays in Scotl. (1927) 144 Nontheles he was ȝeit reddy to except the said office gif the toune [etc.].
1775 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1862) 2nd Ser. II. 108 That may still be done, and ye box none the worse for it, or you may unhinge it and keep it in the top.
1799 Spirit of Public Jrnls. 2 134 She found his studying politics made us none the richer.
1820 Ld. Byron Wks. (1837) IV. 325 To my mind, they look none the worse for their nudity.
1841 T. B. Macaulay Speeches (1853) 237 My circumstances are to be worse, and Johnsons's none the better.
1879 H. James Confidence II. xxxi. 237 Bernard, upon whom the burden of exile sat none the more lightly as the days went on.
1925 G. K. Chesterton Everlasting Man i. vii. 162 Stories none the less heroic for being hackneyed remind us that the Republic was founded on a tyrannicide.
1954 G. Durrell Bafut Beagles (1956) 47 The hunter's remark left me none the wiser as to what sort of an animal it was.
1991 A. Campbell Sidewinder i. 14 I am up and about, feeling none the worse for my attack of sunstroke.
2. By no means, not at all.
a. Following the main verb (esp. sleep or worry) as complement. Also (following another negative): at all. Now chiefly U.S. colloquial (esp. in African-American usage), usually in negative contexts.
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a1225 MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 61 (MED) Ho..ne mihten sunegenen nan, ne ut of godes wille gan.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 9607 (MED) Mercy awe non [a1400 Vesp. no; c1460 Laud not] here to spede, Bot-if þat sothfastnes it lede.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 27 We..lay still all Night; I say still, for we slept none!
1753 Extracts Trial J. Stewart in Scots Mag. Sept. 450/1 He had slept none for two nights.
a1805 A. Carlyle Autobiogr. (1860) iii. 95 He seemed as torpid as George Murray..: he conversed none.
1821 W. Scott Pirate II. v. 117 By my advice, you will quarrel nane with Captain Cleveland.
1852 J. B. Jones Adventures Colonel Vanderbomb xv. 198 Our adventurers slept none that night.
1907 C. E. Mulford Bar-20 v. 47 I paid twenty wheels for that [sc. a hat] eight years ago, and I don't want it mussed none.
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues xviii. 169 I had never cared what the hell people thought, and jail hadn't changed that none.
1973 E. Bullins Theme is Blackness 65 Don't you worry none about that, Mother. We'll find a way.
1987 J. Wilcox Miss Undine's Living Room x. 152 You don't have to worry none.
b. Preceding the main verb, a participle, or a predicative adjective. Also introducing a clause following a negative: neither. Chiefly Scottish and English regional (northern) after 15th cent. Now rare.
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the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [adverb] > not > not at all
noughteOE
nothingOE
nonewaysc1225
not a dealc1250
nothing soa1393
no-gatea1400
no-gatesa1400
no waya1400
nowaysa1400
riff no raff?a1400
in (also on, by) no kins way(s) (or wise)c1400
nowisec1425
no whitc1520
none1533
never a dysec1540
vengeance1556
in no sort1561
none ofc1571
nil1581
none1651
nowhat1651
nohow1775
du tout1824
nowt1828
nix1862
nary1895
a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 3470 Mercy is Mankynde non worthy.
c1480 (a1400) St. Clement 721 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 394 Til hyme non answert he.
a1500 (c1400) St. Erkenwald (1977) 157 (MED) He has non layne here so longe to loke hit by kynde.
a1538 A. Abell Roit or Quheill of Tyme f. 572, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Nan(e It wes said till him for that sin..‘The swerd of slauchtir sal nocht pas out of this hous’, and nane it did.
c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1921) II. ii. 3911 ‘I na thocht euill in word or deid.’ ‘Dam, nane did I’ said the Bauderane.
1651 C. Cartwright Certamen Religiosum i. 202 His own righteousnesse can none be justified.
?c1750 in F. J. Child Ballads II. 129/1 All was blythe, and all was glad, But Lady Maisery she was neen.
1824 J. Galt Rothelan II. iii. ii. 20 After some questioning, by which he saw that I was none informed regarding the page.
1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss I. i. ii. 7 He's none frighted at him.
1924 J. H. Wilkinson Leeds Dial. Gloss. & Lore 157 Ah noan wanted to goa.
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 88/1 ‘He's neean losst owt’—he has lost nothing whatever.
c. With an adjective or adverbial phrase modified by so or too.With too and a following adjective used attributively, often with hyphen.
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1848 A. Brontë Tenant of Wildfell Hall III. xv. 296 She's none so very young.
?1856 F. E. Smedley Harry Coverdale's Courtship xlii. 312 None so dusty that—eh? for a commoner like me?
1857 W. Chandless Visit Salt Lake II. vi. 233 His team were none too strong, and twice he ‘stalled’ hopelessly, and had to send to the nearest farm for a yoke of cattle.
1871 E. J. Goodspeed Hist. Great Fires Chicago 108 They [sc. tunnels] were finished none too soon, for in the present distress they have paid for themselves.
1879 Spectator 31 May 680 The Horse Guards are none so fond of him.
1916 E. H. Porter Just David ii. 17 There was only the pause now and then to steady his none-too-sure step.
1931 ‘Brent of Bin Bin’ Back to Bool Bool 233 She was only the great-granddaughter of old Larry Healey of Little River, none so clean a potato, if rumour was correct.
1963 D. Ballantyne in C. K. Stead N.Z. Short Stories (1966) 2nd Ser. 151 His none-too-searching questions had already disclosed that the psychologist..was sophisticated enough to take an irreverent view of Freud.
1971 Black World Mar. 61/2 She told me she wasn't feeling none too good.
1986 J. Gloag Only Yesterday (1988) 97 The Germans were none too popular after the war.
1998 Esquire July 114/3 A hilarious, none-too-subtle satire on the Chicago sports bar.
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the mind > language > statement > negation > [adverb] > no
noOE
nayc1175
nonea1382
naw1699
nix1862
naow1884
uh-uh1885
nah1886
nope1888
ixnay1929
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxiv. 21 He forsoþ behelde here styllich, wylnyng to wyte wheþer þe lord hadde ymade his way welsum or none [a1425 Corpus Oxf. or noon; a1425 L.V. ethir nay; L. an non].
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 137 So that I may finde..If thou be gracious or non.
c1395 G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale 778 Lerneth to suffre, or elles, so moot I gon, Ye shul it lerne, wher so ye wole or non.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 6618 (MED) O þis watur he gert ilkan Drinc, quer he wald ar nan.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 14279 Whedir be þei cristend or non?
a1425 (?a1400) Cloud of Unknowing (Harl. 674) (1944) 63 Alle þoo schuld worche in þis grace,..wheþer þei haue ben customable synners or none.
1451 R. Southwell in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 77 Whethir it be thus or non I can not say.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 299 (MED) A prynce of peasse shall enter therat wheder ye will or none.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxvii I ne wotte whether I shal say welcome or none.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.c1525
pron.adj.adv.eOE- to lose a sheep for a halfpennyworth of tar
- to make do and mend
- to make do force
- to make dog's meat of
- to make dogmeat of
- to make dole
- to make dolour
- to make domino
- to make doubt
- to make down
- to make draw a wry face or mouth
- to make draw a wry face or mouth wry faces
- to make draw a wry face or mouth wry mouths
- to make ducks and drakes of or with
- to make easting
- to make easy
- to make english
- to make entry
- to make essoin
- to make esteem of
- to make estimation of
- to make etc
- to make etc account of
- to make etc count of
- to make etc esteem of