naught
nounEtymology From the Middle English naught, nought, naht, nawiht, from Old English nawiht. Cognate with West Frisian neat (“nothing, naught”). Doublet of nought. Equivalent to ne + aught.
1
Archaic Nothingness.
- Derived terms
- naughty
naught
pronUK /nɔːt/ · AU, UK, NZ /noːt/
Etymology From the Middle English naught, nought, naht, nawiht, from Old English nawiht. Cognate with West Frisian neat (“nothing, naught”). Doublet of nought. Equivalent to ne + aught.
1
Nothing.
- Naught can come of this, you mark my words.
- Eat! Drink! Love! for all else is naught.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 215:
2 more examples
- But that was naught to my old mate, he didn't mind at all.1994, Mike Hayes, Tell Us Anothree! More yarns from all around Australia, Sydney: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, published 2001, page 24:
- My day starts where yesterday's had finished - at St Pancras, only this time on Thameslink and the subterranean station I first visited when it was naught but an empty box. Now it's a vital cross-London interchange.2022 November 16, Paul Bigland, “From rural branches to high-speed arteries”, in RAIL, number 970, page 56:
- Derived terms
- aleph-naught, bring to naught, come to naught, do-naught, fearnaught, good-for-naught, more often than naught, set at naught