no

Meanings

1. 1
   adv

   Used to give a negative answer or to refuse or disagree.

   "Do you want more coffee?" "No, thank you."

2. 2
   det

   Not any; not one.

   There is no milk left in the fridge.

3. 3
   noun

   A refusal or a negative answer.

   Her answer was a firm no.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Noa entered English from Maori in the mid-19th century. It means the opposite of taboo or tabu.

Inherited from Middle English no, na, from Old English nā, nō (“no, not, not ever, never”), from Proto-West Germanic *naiwō, from Proto-Germanic *naiwô (“never”), *ne (“not”), from Proto-Indo-European *né, *nē, *nēy (negative particle), equivalent to Old English ne (“not”) + ā, ō (“ever, always”). Cognate with Scots na (“no”), Saterland Frisian noa (“no”), West Frisian né (“no”), nea (“never”), Dutch nee (“no”), Low German nee (“no”), German nie (“never”), dialectal German nö (“no”), Danish nej (“no”), Swedish nej (“no”), Icelandic nei (“no”). More at nay.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary