English word origin

Etymology of aught

From Middle English aught, ought, from Old English āht, āwiht, from ā (“always", "ever”) + wiht (“thing", "creature”). More at wight.

5 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 5 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

Whit, the smallest part, iota.

pron

Anything whatsoever, any part.

adv

At all, in any degree, in any respect.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English aught, ought, from Old English āht, āwiht, from ā (“always", "ever”) + wiht (“thing", "creature”). More at wight.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionaughtenm
Inherited-form mentionāhtang

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Zero. · The digit zero.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Rebracketing of a naught.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

Estimation. · Of importance or consequence (in the phrase "of aught"). · Esteem, respect.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English aught (“estimation, regard, reputation”), from Old English ǣht (“estimation, consideration”), from Proto-West Germanic *ahtu. Cognate with Dutch acht (“attention, regard, heed”), German Acht (“attention, regard”). Also see ettle.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionaughtenm
Inherited-form mentionǣhtang
Inherited-form mention*ahtugmw-pro
Cognate mentionachtnl
Cognate mentionAchtde

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

verb

Obsolete or dialectal form of ought

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Originally the past tense of owe.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Root classification mention*h₂eyḱ-ine-pro

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗

num

Obsolete or dialectal form of eight.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English ahte, from Old English eahta (“eight”). More at eight.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inherited-form mentionahteenm
Inherited-form mentioneahtaang

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

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Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-YXVnaHQ