nawiht

Middle English

Pronoun

nawiht

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of nought

Adverb

nawiht

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of nought

Adjective

nawiht

1. (Early Middle English) Alternative form of nought

Old English

Alternative forms

• nāht, nāuht, nāwuht, nōht, nōwiht

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *naiwwiht. Originally equivalent to ne +‎ āwiht or nā +‎ wiht.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɑːˌwixt/, [ˈnɑːˌwiçt]

Pronoun

nāwiht n

1. nothing
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies

     Nys nāht ofor hyne...

     Nothing is above Him...

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Nāwiht ne biþ yfel ǣr man wēne þæt hit yfel sīe.

     Nothing is bad until you think it's bad.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Sēo leofaþ nū þē, þē ānum, for þon þe hēo nāwiht elles ne lufaþ būtan þē.

     Now she lives for you, only you, because she loves nothing else but you.

2. none
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies

     Ne lyst mē nāwiht ðāra metta þe ic forhātan habbe, ac mē lyst ðāra þe ic getiohhod habbe tō ætanne, ðonne ic hī gesēo.

     I desire none of those meats which I have renounced; I desire those which I have thought right to eat, when I see them.

Usage notes

This word has many variant forms:

• Contractions such as nāwht and nāht are very common, especially in adverbial use.

• Another frequent form, nān wiht, is a phrase made up of separate words; accordingly, both nān and wiht are inflected. Note that while the compound nāwiht is always neuter, wiht is often feminine as a standalone word, a feature that goes back to Proto-Germanic times: God ne ēht nānre wihte for þȳ hine nān wiht ne mæġ flēon ("God chases nothing [gen. sg. fem.] because nothing can run from him").

Nāwiht (like with āwiht) typically takes a genitive to indicate the quality of the thing being referred to, not an adjective: nāwiht weorðes ("nothing of worth/value"), nāwiht elles ("nothing else").

Declension

Declension of nāwiht (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	nāwiht	—
accusative	nāwiht	—
genitive	nāwihtes	—
dative	nāwihte	—

Adverb

nāwiht

1. not (used to negate adjectives, especially in phrases like "not long ago" and "not far from")
   • Life of St. Guthlac

     Is on Bretenne lande sum fenn unmǣtre miċelnesse þe onġinþ fram Grantan ēa, nāht feorr fram þǣre ċeastre þȳ ilcan naman, is nemned Grante ċeaster.

     There is in Britain a swamp of immense size that begins at the River Granta, not far from the city of the same name, which is called Grantchester. (Note: since ċeaster was both a word for "city" and a place name suffix, Grante ċeaster could also be translated "Granta city" or "the city of Granta," so the author's statement makes perfect sense in Old English.)

2. used with ne for emphasis; not at all (often left untranslated)
   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Ne ondrǣde iċ heora mē nū nāwht.

     I'm not scared of them at all now.

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy

     Ne mæġ iċ þē nāwht helan þæs þe iċ wāt.

     I can't hide from you what I know.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Saint Swithhun, Bishop"

     ...he næfre ær naht cweðan ne mihte...

     ...he had never before been able to speak,...

Descendants

• Middle English: nought, noght, nouȝt, noȝt
  • ⇒ Middle English: not, nat, note, notte, nate, nut
    • English: not
    • Geordie English: nut
    • Scots: nat (obsolete)
    • Yola: nat