English word origin

Etymology of nould

From Middle English nolde (“would not”), from Old English nolde, first and third person preterite of nyllan (“will not”), from ne- (“not”) + wyllan (“will”). More at ne, will.

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In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

verb

Would not.

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

From Middle English nolde (“would not”), from Old English nolde, first and third person preterite of nyllan (“will not”), from ne- (“not”) + wyllan (“will”). More at ne, will.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionnoldeenm
Inherited-form mentionnoldeang

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "nolde",
        "4": "",
        "5": "would not"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English nolde (“would not”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "nolde"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English nolde"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "nolde",
      "nolde#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nolde",
      "nolde#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "nyllan",
      "nyllan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ne-",
      "ne-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "wyllan",
      "wyllan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ne",
      "ne#English"
    ],
    [
      "will",
      "will#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Would not."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "c73cb6cfc976a4be5dc0f69af3436b990792929367eeeaf160abf2b78831bab0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "fed25155c11a518c4cd42d01e01cd5bfae374d69d90f32bcca5bcc71c828b8ec",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 3768257
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for nould →

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-bm91bGQ