Etymograph

English

nullity

Nullity comes from Medieval Latin nūllitās ‘nonentity’, from Latin nūllus ‘no one, none, not any, nothing’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*óynos1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oinos1‘one’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*ne1‘not’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*noinolos1reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūllus2‘no one, none, not any, nothing’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500nūllitās2‘nonentity’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600nullité2
  8. Englishtodaynullity2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin nullus
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English nullity

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*óynosWiktionary, Latin nullusreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*oinosWiktionary, Latin nullus‘one’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*neWiktionary, Latin nullus‘not’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*noinolosWiktionary, Latin nullusreconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnūllusWiktionary, English nullity‘no one, none, not any, nothing’
  6. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500nūllitāsWiktionary, English nullity‘nonentity’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600nullitéWiktionary, English nullity
  8. EnglishtodaynullityWiktionary, English nullity

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *óynos

inch, ounce, unity, 1 more

through Proto-Italic *oinos ‘one’

union, unique, universal, unite, uno, triune, 19 more

Today it means

noun The state of being null, or void, or invalid.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “nullity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin nullus. 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 *óynos / nullity

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