559: no Jun 19, 2016

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It is perhaps strange to think of 'no' having origins, as it is so intrinsically vital to grammar, but it does. Across various Indo-European languages the word is fairly similar: N followed by a usually long vowel sound. More similar perhaps is the root for 'not'. The word 'no' is derived from the Old English words 'ne' meaning 'not' and 'ā' meaning always, which is the root for 'aye' as in 'aye sir'. While, yes, there are a few Romance languages with the same word 'no', the word for 'not' is (or was) more universal, as it is 'ne' in Latin, Old English, Old High German, Greek, and French just to name a few of many. So though of course "no means no", in Proto-Indo-European sublanguages "not always means no". 

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