nought
noun
- the figure zero; a cipher; a zero
pronoun
- nothing, not anything
- zero; nil
adjective
- worthless, useless
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /nɔːt/ / /noːt/ / /nʊt/
adj
Etymology: From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not.
- Good for nothing; worthless.
“It is nought, it is nought (saith the buyer:) but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.”
- Wicked, immoral.
adv
Etymology: From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not.
- To no extent; in no way; not at all.
- Not.
noun
Etymology: From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not.
- Nothing; something which does not exist.
“"It is the truth; naught have I hidden from thee, Kallikrates."”
- A thing or person of no worth or value; nil.
- Not any quantity of number; zero; the score of no points in a game.
“0.335 cm is nought/zero point three three five of a centimeter.”
- The figure or character representing, or having the shape of, zero.
pron
Etymology: From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not.
- Nothing; zero.
verb
Etymology: From Middle English nought, noght, noȝt, from Old English nōwiht, nāwiht, which in turn comes from ne-ā-wiht, which was a phrase used as an emphatic "no", meaning "not anything". Equivalent to ne + ought or ne + a + wight. Doublet of naught and not.
- To abase, to set at nought.
“In this naked word sin, our Lord brought to my mind, generally, all that is not good, and the shameful despite and the utter noughting that He bare for us in this life, and His dying; and all the pains and passions of all His creatures, ghostly and bodily; (for we be all partly noughted, and we shall be noughted following our Master, Jesus, till we be full purged, that is to say, till we be fully noughted of our deadly flesh and of all our inward affections which are not very good;)”
“The nought which is you has devoured the style and been sustained for a while as a non-you until the style is emptied out by the noughting self.”