Etymograph

English

nada

Nada comes from Spanish nada ‘nothing’, from Latin nātus ‘not a soul’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-1‘to produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₁tós1‘begotten, produced’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnātos1‘born’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnātus1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātus1‘not a soul’literally ‘nobody born’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE(nūlla rēs) nāta1literally ‘no born thing, not a thing born’
  7. Old Spanishc. 950–1500nada1
  8. Spanishc. 1500–presentnada2‘nothing’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2019nada2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Spanish nada
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English nada
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Balenciaga: “Skechers lookin' like Balenciaga / Thrift clothes lookin' like…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵenh₁-Wiktionary, Spanish nada‘to produce’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₁tósWiktionary, Spanish nada‘begotten, produced’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnātosWiktionary, Spanish nada‘born’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnātusWiktionary, Spanish nada
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnātusWiktionary, Spanish nada‘not a soul’literally ‘nobody born’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE(nūlla rēs) nātaWiktionary, Spanish nadaliterally ‘no born thing, not a thing born’
  7. Old Spanishc. 950–1500nadaWiktionary, Spanish nada
  8. Spanishc. 1500–presentnadaWiktionary, English nada‘nothing’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 2019nadaWiktionary, English nada. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2019, Balenciaga: “Skechers lookin' like Balenciaga / Thrift clothes lookin' like…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- ‘to produce’

general, kind, king, german, engine, generation, nature, gender, nation, genuine, gene, genius, pregnant, oxygen, ken, genre, gentle, indigenous, hydrogen, genocide, genus, kin, genital, ingenious, germ, innate, gentile, gens, nascent, puny, glycogen, genial, janata, genteel, gingerly, genitive, jaunty, nomen, estrogenic, azadi, 104 more

through Latin gnātus

cognate, 4 more

through Latin nātus ‘not a soul’

natural, native, noel, naive, nee, natal, nativity, 5 more

Today it means

pron Nothing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nada”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Spanish nada. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- / nada

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