Etymograph

English

nothing

Nothing comes from Middle English nothyng, from Old English nāþing, nān þing ‘nothing’, literally ‘not any thing’.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150nān þing1‘nothing’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150nāþing1‘nothing’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nothyng1‘not any thing’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1651–1653nothing1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English nothing
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1651–1653, Jeremy Taylor, London: […] Richard Royston […]: “Sermons are not like curious inquiries after new nothings,…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150nān þingWiktionary, English nothing‘nothing’
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150nāþingWiktionary, English nothing‘nothing’
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500nothyngWiktionary, English nothing‘not any thing’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1651–1653nothingWiktionary, English nothing. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1651–1653, Jeremy Taylor, London: […] Richard Royston […]: “Sermons are not like curious inquiries after new nothings,…”

Every English word from Old English nān þing

Today it means

pron Not any thing; no thing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nothing”. 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 / Old English nān þing / nothing

Shirt and support for this word