*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ne

From Middle English ne, from Old English ne, from Proto-West Germanic *ne, from Proto-Germanic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *né. Cognates include Gothic 𐌽𐌹 (ni), Latin nē, Sanskrit न (na), Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian an

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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

Not.

conj

Nor.

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

From Middle English ne, from Old English ne, from Proto-West Germanic *ne, from Proto-Germanic *ne, from Proto-Indo-European *né. Cognates include Gothic 𐌽𐌹 (ni), Latin nē, Sanskrit न (na), Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian and Russian не (ne), Lithuanian ne, Irish ní.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionneenm
  • Inherited-form mentionneang
  • Inherited-form mention*negmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*negem-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*néine-pro
  • Cognate mention𐌽𐌹got
  • Cognate mentionnela
  • Cognate mentionनsa
  • Cognate mentionнеru
  • Cognate mentionnelt
  • Cognate mentionníga
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": "ne"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ne"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ne"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ne"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*ne"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *ne"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*ne"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *ne"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*né"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *né"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "got",
        "2": "𐌽𐌹"
      },
      "expansion": "Gothic 𐌽𐌹 (ni)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "ne",
        "3": "nē"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin nē"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sa",
        "2": "न"
      },
      "expansion": "Sanskrit न (na)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bg",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Bulgarian"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sh",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Serbo-Croatian"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ru",
        "2": "не"
      },
      "expansion": "Russian не (ne)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "lt",
        "2": "ne"
      },
      "expansion": "Lithuanian ne"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ga",
        "2": "ní"
      },
      "expansion": "Irish ní"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ne",
      "ne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ne",
      "ne#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ne",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ne"
    ],
    [
      "*ne",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ne"
    ],
    [
      "*né",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/né"
    ],
    [
      "𐌽𐌹",
      "𐌽𐌹#Gothic"
    ],
    [
      "nē",
      "ne#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "न",
      "न#Sanskrit"
    ],
    [
      "не",
      "не#Russian"
    ],
    [
      "ne",
      "ne#Lithuanian"
    ],
    [
      "ní",
      "ní#Irish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "Not."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "04c52c494cc5fc12668fd42819c3ea0363dc284a239af8d49c94e9d3047fc1f8",
      "rawRecordSha256": "ca516e518bd14d84c2ee9d25d488fd24d16eeef1d2a09f65fd388f649f671ef7",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 132885
    },
    {
      "pos": "conj",
      "glosses": [
        "Nor."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "34a02c5a1d16869d08ee2ce757408833148bcb662b1da4a2e96242368737692d",
      "rawRecordSha256": "d62a8c5ba5386b4b7f8299e74c7dc31bd23f581fdf946fbebb43453718b15cf5",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 132886
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adv

"Isn't that so?" (used in representations of Maori English).

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

From Māori nē.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Derivation mentionnēmi
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "mi",
        "3": "nē"
      },
      "expansion": "Māori nē"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "nē",
      "nē#Māori"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adv",
      "glosses": [
        "\"Isn't that so?\" (used in representations of Maori English)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand",
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "recordId": "2befafa483948dadccf9aa926e99ff76f7003ea92d7a6de30d74e95d112007d1",
      "rawRecordSha256": "51c263cf805798761fe1a20f6ffea18b9d15fa6b69bc3b2fe9dddaf184bc9f4c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 132887
    }
  ],
  "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 ne →

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-bmU