not
Language: English
Part of speech: adv
Pronunciation: ipa: /nɒt/
ipa: [nɒt]
ipa: [nɒʔ(t)]
ipa: [nɔt]
ipa: [nɔʔ(t)]
ipa: [nɑ̈ʔ(t̚)]
ipa: [nɞʔt]
note: Local Dublin
ipa: [näʔ]
ipa: [nɒːt]
ipa: [nɔ̈ʔ]
homophone: knot
homophone: naught
homophone: nought (cot–caught merger)
rhymes: -ɒt
Etymology: From Middle English not, nat, variant of noght, naht (“not, nothing”), from Old English *nōht, nāht (“nought, nothing”), short for nōwiht, nāwiht (“nothing”, literally “not anything”), corresponding to ne (“not”) + ōwiht, āwiht (“anything”), corresponding to ā (“ever, always”) + wiht (“thing, creature”).
Cognate with Scots nat, naucht (“not”), Saterland Frisian nit (“not”), West Frisian net (“not”), Dutch niet (“not”), German nicht (“not”). Compare nought, naught and aught. More at no, wight, whit.
Senses: examples: text: Did you take out the trash? — No, I did not. I do not think it was my turn, was it?
text: Not knowing any better, I went ahead.
text: It was felt desirable that she not leave school before fourteen.
text: I'd rather MoM (did) not stay, cuz the best thing about a holiday is not working.
text: Not a day passes when I don't regret not having enrolled in medicine.
text: People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook. Well, I'm not a crook. I've earned everything I've got.
ref: 1973 November 17, Richard Milhous Nixon, Orlando press conference
text: The sound of Abba singing ‘Dancing Queen’ had started up in a room the other side of the court. Adrian slammed the window shut.
‘That’ll teach you to throw things out of the window,’ said Gary.
‘It’ll teach me not to throw things out of the window.’
ref: 1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section I, page 42:
text: I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I'm going to say this again: I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.
ref: 1998 January 26, William Jefferson Clinton, White House press conference
text: Oh, Pete. This is not the gym. — That’s right, Anna. This is the mailroom.
ref: 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
glosses: Negates the meaning of the modified verb.
examples: text: That is not red; it's green.
text: It's not you, it's me.
text: Expectation: Everybody in the family has to love everybody else.
Reaction: Not the ghost of Christmas past, present, or future could pull this one off unless feeling is already there.
ref: 1984 December 22, John Stout, “Home for the Holidays: Survival Strategies for Gays”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 23, page 5:
glosses: To no degree.
examples: text: That day was not the best day of my life. (meaning the day was bad or awful)
text: It was not my favorite movie of all time. (meaning the speaker dislikes or strongly dislikes the movie)
text: In the not too distant future my view on the matter might be not a million miles away from yours.
text: I wonder if I shouldn't see a doctor - I've been feeling funny the last few days.
glosses: Used to indicate the opposite or near opposite, often in a form of understatement.
examples: text: Oh god, not that! Anything but that!
text: Not another rainy day!
glosses: Used before a determiner phrase, a pronominal phrase etc. to convey a negative attitude (e.g. denial, sadness, anger) towards something.
examples: text: Not me writing example sentences again.
translation: Oh my, there I go writing example sentences again!
english: Oh my, there I go writing example sentences again!
text: Not me crying by the end of that!! You are a brilliant, beautiful human who deserves no less than the world. Thank you for taking the time to watch unicorn store. It’s a film that means so much to me.
ref: 2023 July 8, @brielarson [Brie Larson], Twitter:
text: [Keke] Palmer tells Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager to “mind y'all's business” when they ask about her relationship with [Darius] Jackson. ¶ “Not y’all trying to get into it! They trying it on the Today show,” Palmer joked when the subject was first brought up on Today With Hoda & Jenna.
ref: 2023 December 9, “Keke Palmer and Darius Jackson: A Complete Relationship Timeline”, in Glamour:
glosses: Used before a non-finite clause (especially a gerund-participial clause) or less commonly a determiner phrase to ironically convey some attitude (e.g. surprise, incredulity, amusement, embarrassment) towards something.
Derived terms: astronot
could not get elected dogcatcher
injucundity
not again
not a word
not dog
not-for-profit
not necessarily
notness
notpology
not-self
not-so-hot
notspot
not to put too fine a point on it
notwheat
whatnot
wherenot
Related terms: sense: negates meaning of verb
word: ain't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: aren't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: cannot
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: can't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: daren't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: didn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: doesn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: don't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: forget-me-not
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: hadn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: hasn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: have-not
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: haven't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: isn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: mightn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: needn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: neither
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: no
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: nor
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: not bad
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: not guilty
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: not quite
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: not think
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: notwithstanding
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: shan't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: shouldn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: wasn't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: won't
sense: negates meaning of verb
word: wouldn't