*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of non

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Germanic *ne Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Germanic *ainaz Proto-Germanic *nainaz Proto-West Germanic *nain Old English nān Middle English non ▲

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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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
adv

Obsolete form of none. · Used to negate or invert the meaning of the following adjective. More properly written as the prefix non-.

noun

A non-Muslim citizen. · A nonwhite person.

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Germanic *ne Proto-Indo-European *ís? Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos Proto-Germanic *ainaz Proto-Germanic *nainaz Proto-West Germanic *nain Old English nān Middle English non ▲ Old English nān Old English nān- Middle English non- English non- English non From non- (prefix)

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "non-<id:not>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *né\nProto-Germanic *ne\nProto-Indo-European *ís?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁óynos\nProto-Germanic *ainaz\nProto-Germanic *nainaz\nProto-West Germanic *nain\nOld English nān\nMiddle English non\n▲\nOld English nān\nOld English nān-\nMiddle English non-\nEnglish non-\nEnglish non\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ne\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"one\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*ís\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁óynos\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ainaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*nainaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*nain\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"nān\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"non\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_duplicate\" : true, \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : { \"1\" : \"ang\", \"2\" : \":inh\", \"3\" : \"gmw-pro:*nain<ety:inh<gem-pro:*nainaz>>\", \"tree\" : \"1\" }, \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"nān\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"nān-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"non-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"non-\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"non\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"non\">"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "non-<id:not>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *né\nProto-Germanic *ne\nProto-Indo-European *ís?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁óynos\nProto-Germanic *ainaz\nProto-Germanic *nainaz\nProto-West Germanic *nain\nOld English nān\nMiddle English non\n▲\nOld English nān\nOld English nān-\nMiddle English non-\nEnglish non-\nEnglish non"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*né",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/né"
    ],
    [
      "*ne",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ne"
    ],
    [
      "*ís",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ís"
    ],
    [
      "*h₁óynos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁óynos#Proto-Indo-European:_one"
    ],
    [
      "*ainaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ainaz"
    ],
    [
      "*nainaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/nainaz"
    ],
    [
      "*nain",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/nain"
    ],
    [
      "nān",
      "nan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "non",
      "non#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "nān",
      "nan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "nān-",
      "nan-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "non-",
      "non-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "non-",
      "non-#English:_not"
    ],
    [
      "non-",
      "non-#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "Obsolete form of none.",
        "Used to negate or invert the meaning of the following adjective. More properly written as the prefix non-."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "not-comparable",
        "obsolete",
        "nonstandard"
      ],
      "recordId": "62d08f41608b5924fcfc8a9724f7d4743571bf534b2afb59ca309e87269ca253",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8841f67111187d84376bfe7df00fe9666d2125ded01bd066bd1741ac38b494f0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18118
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A non-Muslim citizen.",
        "A nonwhite person."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Malaysia",
        "slang"
      ],
      "recordId": "d3439c4e656835de9f5bc989735f36722648c71ab3a97c3949efa52d3070cca9",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3687ec40dc29d0ed48d434ef8c40380adefb77711fa7415cd57fc9ce689edc8c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 18119
    }
  ],
  "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 non →

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-bm9u