▪ I. not, a. and n.1 Now dial.
(nɒt)
Forms: 1 hnot, 4, 6– not, 6, 9 nott, 9 knot; 6, 9 nat, 9 natt.
[OE. hnot, of obscure origin.]
† 1. Close-cropped, short-haired. Obs.
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. ix. (Z.) 35 Glabrio, calu oððe hnot. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 109 A not-heed hadde he, with a broun visage. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 46 Thanne comeþ þer..As not of his nolle, as he þe nest made, Anoþer proud partriche. 1620 B. Jonson News fr. Moon (Rtldg.) 616/2 Not heads and broad hats, short doublets and long points. |
† b. Comb., as not-headed, not-pated adjs. Obs.
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 78 Wilt thou rob this Leatherne Ierkin, Christall button, Not-pated, Agat ring? 1611–2 Chapman Widowes T. Wks. 1873 III. 18 Your not-headed Countrie Gentleman. 1633 B. Jonson Tale Tub i. iii, The incorrigible Nott-headed beast, the clowns, or constables, Still let them gaze. |
† 2. Of a willow: Pollard. Obs. rare—1.
| 931 in Birch Cartul. Sax. II. 357 Þam lange grafette suðeweardon to ðon hnottan seale on Searleaᵹe stent. |
3. Of sheep or cattle: Hornless, polled.
| 1587 L. Mascall Gov. Cattle, Sheep (1627) 237 Some say, that a horned ram is ill to get lambs:..therfore the nat ram is counted the better. 1596 Harington Metam. Ajax Prol., He massacred a whole flocke of good nott-ewes. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 50 They have not all of them hornes, but some are nott;..the nott she goats are more free of milk. 1787 Grose Prov. Gloss., Not, smooth, polled or shorn. Not-sheep, sheep without horns. Essex. 1807 Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 347 The Old Devonshire dim-faced nott sheep. 1868– in southern dial. glossaries, of sheep and cows. 1891 Hardy Tess xvii, Why do nott cows give less milk in a year than horned? |
b. n. A hornless sheep.
| 1837 Youatt Sheep vii. 253 The Devonshire notts, or polled sheep, used..to be at least middle-woolled, if not short-woolled sheep. 1875 Pengelly Verbal Prov. 113 (E.D.D.), A cross of the new Leicester with the Bampton nott. |
† 4. Of wheat or barley: Awnless, beardless. Obs.
| 1602 Carew Cornwall 20 Of Wheate there are two sorts, French, which is bearded,..and Notwheate, so termed because it is vnbearded. c 1680 Enquiries 2/2 Do you sow Aleppo wheat,..Not wheat, Pendule wheat?.. Have you..Not Barleys sown here, or any other Barleys? |
▪ II. † not, v.1 Obs.
Also 6 notte, nott.
[f. prec.]
trans. To clip or cut short (the hair or beard).
| 1530 Palsgr. 645/1, I have notted my heed nowe that sommer is come. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Tondeo, They notted their fathers head and bearde. 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) III. 1702 Now was hys head notted euil fauordly, and clypped much lyke as a man would clippe a fooles head. 1592 Stow Ann. (1631) 570 Hee caused..from thence forth his beard to be notted and no more shauen. 1674 Ray Coll. Words 73 To Not: and Notted: i.e. polled, shorn. Essex. [Hence in Ainsworth (1736), etc.] |
b. With personal object.
| 1541 Rutland MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) IV. 313 To Mr. Markham, barber, for nottyng my Lordes children, ij s. 1567 Golding Ovid's Met. x. 204 His Barbare who Was wont to nott him spyed it. 1606 Holland Sueton. 19 He would not onely be notted & shaven very precisely, but also have his haire plucked. |
▪ III. † not, v.2, note
for ne wot know(s) not: see ne and wit v. Forms: α. 2–3 nat. β. 3–7 not, 6 nott. γ. 4–6 note, 6 nolte. δ. 4, 6 noot.
For other parts of the verb wit with prefixed negative, see nete, nist, niten, nost, nuten.
| α c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. v. §3 Ic nat ful ᵹeare ymb hwæt þu ᵹiet tweost. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xii. 35 He nat hwyder he gæð. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 31 Ȝif he nat to soðe þet heo beoð liues. c 1230 Hali Meid. 9 Nat tah na mon bute ham self hwat ham sticheð ofte. |
| β a 1225 Ancr. R. 178 Þis is þe ancre þet not nout hwat is fondunge. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1621 Ich not neauer to hwan þu miȝt. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 92 In to þis londes ende Y not non better kniȝt. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 43 He not, til that the chance falle, Wher he schal lese. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) i. xv. (1859) 13, I not to whome I shal my seluen dresse! c 1480 Paston Lett. III. 302 For the peyne I not me wher to hold. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 19, I nott quhome to thy Simpylnes to sende. 1576 Gascoigne Philomene (Arb.) 90 As yet I not, what proper hew it bare. 1614 J. Davies (Heref.) Commend. Poems, etc. Wks. (Grosart) II. 21/2, I not how I shall thriue therein. |
| γ a 1300 E.E.P. (1862) 153 Soch an oþir an erþe i note. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 126 Thay hym nome I note how mykil out of Rome. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. clviii. 147 To bryng his malycious purpose aboute, I note by what sorcery. a 1542 Wyatt Ps. li. Prol., I note whether he cries or sings. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xii. 17, I note whether [to] praise or pitty more. 1600 Fairfax Tasso xviii. l, But loe (from whence I nolte) a falcon came. |
| δ 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 207 Noot no man how neighe it is. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 55, I noot ȝif þat was i-doo by his broþer wil. a 1425 Cursor M. 5265 (Trin.), What clooþ was hit..Þat blody was & I noot how. |
▪ IV. not, adv. and n.2
(nɒt)
Also 4–6 nott, 5 nut, 7– n't.
[Abbreviated form of nought adv.: cf. nat adv.]
The ordinary adverb of negation.
A. adv.
1. Modifying a simple tense or form of an ordinary verb. a. Following the verb. Now arch.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 29 As Ancres and Hermytes..Coueyte not in Cuntre to carien a-boute. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 159 So that here kinges yhe is blent And wot not hou the world is went. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iv. 120 They wyst not what folke they were. Ibid., See ye not what folke we ben? 1530 Tindale Answ. More i. Wks. (1573) 276/1 As long as y{supt} signification bode, it hurted not. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 30 With holy father sits not with such thinges to mell. 1628 Bp. Hall Old Relig. 194, I differ not from the iudgement of our best..Classical Diuines. 1653 Walton Angler iv. v, Let not your line exceed..three or four hairs at the most. a 1700 Dryden (J.), Let each man do as to his fancy seems; I wait not, I, 'till you have better dreams. 1789 Triumphs Fortitude I. 101, I doubt not but they will greatly contribute [etc.]. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mar. iv. ii, Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding Guest! This body dropt not down. 1821 Byron Sardan. iv. i, I seek..no pleasure but in parting not. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. I. i. 424 Thou shalt see the day Unharmed, if that dread box thou openest not. |
b. Preceding the verb. Chiefly poet.
| c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 3092 Whan Troyens dede this trespas, Menelaus at home not was. 1483 Cath. Angl. 256/2 To Nott moghe; nequire, non posse. 1608 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. Schisme 617 (Saving Henoch) onely hee not-dies. 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. i. 121, I not doubt He came aliue to Land. 1650 R. Gentilis Considerations 45, I (to not wonder at it) doe rather consider whence it proceeds. 1740 Johnson Life Drake Wks. IV. 419 They..possessed the island, but not enjoyed it. 1816 Byron Ch. Har. iii. lxv, Making a marvel that it not decays. |
c. With ellipsis of dependent clause after certain verbs, as do, have, know, say not. colloq.
| 1906 Kipling Puck of Pook's Hill 147 ‘Did you have a governess, then?’ ‘Did we not? A Greek too.’ 1918 C. Mackenzie Early Life Sylvia Scarlett ii. vii. 450 ‘..Do you remember a man called Leopold Hansberg?’ ‘Do I not?’ Sylvia exclaimed. 1936 M. Allingham Flowers for Judge iv. 74 ‘I suppose they've been questioning you..?’ ‘Have they not!’ Mike spoke explosively. 1973 C. Aird His Burial Too ii. 28 Your father always puts it in the book... I've never known him not. |
2. a. Following an auxiliary verb. Also in the reduced form n't, usually written as one word with the verb.
| α a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxxiv. 22 Þai sall not ouercum þaim. 1382 Wyclif Luke x. 42 The beste part, which schal not be take a wey fro hir. c 1450 Merlin 243 He nys no knyght that will not deffende his londe. 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 433 Thou may not pas Mount Barnard for wild bestis. 1577 Fulke Answ. True Christian 25 You can not proue that your church hath canonized the Apostles. 1632 B. Jonson Epigr. xxxiii, I'll not offend thee with a vain tear more. 1710 Shaftesbury Adv. to Author ii. i, The Arts and Sciences must not be left Patron-less. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xiv, His presence did not interrupt our conversation. 1820 Keats Eve St. Agnes xxxviii, Though I have found, I will not rob thy nest. 1884 tr. Lotze's Logic 323 The act of severance has not produced any lasting..excitement. |
| β 1652 Tatham Scotch Figgaries iv. i, But mayn't I Bar points, being the Challenged? 1672–1774 [see do v. 29]. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selvedge 130 They can't strike sail..in a trice. 1834 M. Edgeworth Helen III. v. 160 ‘No no, I can't sit, can't stay,’ said Lady Cecilia. 1852 Thackeray Esmond iii. ii, That was..one [duty] that she wouldn't have broke her heart in trying to do. 1895 Gissing Eve's Ransom 110 You mustn't tell me anything. |
b. ellipt. in replies. Freq. with that.
| 1629 Massinger Picture i. ii, Eubulus. Have you ne'er read The story of Semiramis and Ninus? Honoria. Not as I remember. 1866 Meredith Vittoria xxxix, ‘Carlo Ammiani will marry her, I presume,’ said Lena. ‘Not before he has met Captain Weisspriess [etc.].’ 1939 ‘N. Blake’ Smiler with Knife i. 13 You never knew when..Nigel [would] be dragged into some queer criminal tangle. Not that they really needed the substantial fees he charged. 1967 Listener 7 Dec. 762/3 We should recall our initial experience of a creative personality as strong as Mahler's... Not that Koechlin is a Mahler, but at best he is an original. |
3. a. Following the substantive verb. Also as n't.
| α 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ix. 75 Ho..is not dronkeleuh ne deynous Dowel him foleweþ. 1475 Paston Lett. III. 130 Iff the market be nott goode yit, I hope it shall be better. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. v. i. 35 Mes. I pray you is my Master yet return'd? Loren. He is not. 1597 ― 2 Hen. IV, i. ii. 238 There is not a daungerous Action..but I am thrust vpon it. 1645 Milton Colast. 20 These matters are not for pragmatics..to babble in. 1685 Lovell Gen. Hist. Relig. 8 Amongst them Laicks are not constrained to confess once a year. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 181 ¶2 At which Time I was not quite Five Years of Age. 1791 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 282 This is not the cause of a king, but of kings. 1821 Shelley Epipsych. 52, I am not thine: I am a part of thee. 1898 Illingworth Div. Immanence iii. (1904) 35/2 This is unquestionably not the case. |
| β 1701 Farquhar Sir H. Wildair iv. ii, I an't to be believed. a 1703 Pomfret Cruelty & Lust (1724) 70 Since in Battle you can greater be, That over, be'nt less merciful than he. 1706– [see an't, ain't, and in't]. 1895 Miss Montresor Highw. & Hedges i. vi, It isn't true. |
b. With ellipse of verb, esp. after if, or in replies.
| 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 151 But [they] beggith and borwith..And not þe better of a bene. 1671 Milton Samson 971 Fame if not double-fac't is double-mouth'd. 1740 Cheyne Regimen 311 Body and Spirit..will eternally be disparata, if not contradictory. 1864–8 Browning J. Lee's Wife iv. iv, No Love! not so indeed! 1883 ‘Annie Thomas’ Mod. Housewife 143 ‘Not to be done!’ Mrs. Sampson said decidedly. |
c. not the (..): an introductory formula used humorously in the titles of publications, etc., to qualify the name of something that is being parodied or satirized. (Chiefly in allusion to the name of the ‘alternative’ British television comedy programme referred to in quot. 1979.)
| 1979 Daily Tel. 18 Oct. 15/8 The postponement of Not The Nine O'Clock News (BBC-2) earlier in the year because of the General Election would seem to suggest that the BBC is over sensitive about sensitivities of politicians. 1981 Not the Church Times 22 Sept. 1/2 We apologise for the statement in last week's edition of Not The Church Times that the Archbishop of Canterbury was a Methodist. This was wrong. 1984 T. Hepburn (title) Not the 1984 Olympics. |
4. Preceding an infinitive or gerundial clause. Esp. with imperative force; freq. in colloq. phr. not to worry, do not worry.
| c 1440 Alph. Tales 135 To ly in his bed & not com att matyns at mydnyght. 1469 Anc. Cal. Rec. Dublin (1889) 333 [That] hit be lawfull to any suche swyne to be killet, and the killers of them note to be empechit. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. 128 He praied him not to say him nay. 1639 Ainsworth Pentateuch 44 They failed in not casting out the inhabitants. 1673 Ray Journ. Low C. 159 It seldom happens the Council-chamber not to be full. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 321, I knew neither what to do, or what not to do. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 175 ¶9 It is, indeed, impossible not to hear..of wrongs and falsehoods. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. i. vii, It was a vast and venerable pile; So old, it seemed only not to fall. 1853 Mrs. Gaskell Cranford ix, Miss Pole clutched my arm, and begged me not to turn. 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 1207 One who came to help thee, not to harm. 1872 Geo. Eliot Middlem. II. xxxvii. 258 And he objects to a secretary: please not to mention that again. 1958 Daily Mail 24 July 6/5 Not to worry. By the time he..had finished with me..I'd be doing long division. 1965 L. Meynell Double Fault i. iii. 31 ‘We'll send it for you.’ ‘Not to bother. I'm going down to the country this evening.’ 1967 Spectator 11 Aug. 160/1 In short, to borrow one of Mr. William's own favoured colloquialisms, not to worry. 1970 V. Canning Great Affair xiv. 269 He gave me a big grin and said, ‘Not to be overcome, son.’ |
5. † a. Used redundantly after verbs of forbidding, dissuading, or preventing. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 106 Þei forbeden not vtterly þat men schulden not preche þe gospel. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas (1554) 22 b, Bochas forbade husbandes.. Without prefe not leve to sone their wyves. c 1540 Pol. Verg. Eng. Hist. (Camden) 118 The earle had diswadyd the king not to place his syster Margaret in maryage unto Charles. 1569 J. Sandford tr. Agrippa's Van. Artes 81 A lawe whiche did forbidde that they shoulde not woorshippe images. 1677 Gilpin Demonol. (1867) 414 Contrary to other plain scriptures prohibiting not to tempt the Lord. |
b. Coupled with other negatives, or repeated. Now dial. or vulgar.
| 1426 Audelay Poems 10 Thai wold not on us have no pete. 1471 Paston Lett. III. 15 Take heede..that they be not in noon place wher that sykenesse is regnyng. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. i. xii, I wyll not medle with no duplycyte. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 739 They should not neede no more to feare him then his shadowe. 1606 Holland Sueton. 105 Hee absented not himselfe in no place. 1632 Lithgow Trav. i. 24 Rauenna, which for antiquity will not bow her top to none in Italy. 1654 tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 149 We resolve then to..render her incapable not to offend us. |
6. Preceding a sentence, clause, or word. a. In introductory phrases, as not but (that), not that, † not for-thy, etc. (See also but C. 18.)
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxxiv. 22 Not forthi thai takyn with eȝhen, as thai lufid me. 1382 Wyclif John vi. 46 Not for ony man syȝ the fadir, no but this that is of God. Ibid. 59 Not as ȝoure fadris eeten manna, and ben deed. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 224 Yet not for thy thei may endure in colde. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. xxx. 463 Not for thenne they bothe lyghtely aroos. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 23 Not that I lou'd Cæsar lesse, but that I lou'd Rome more. 1678–9 Dryden & Lee Œdipus iv. i, Not but you were adorned with all the riches That empire could bestow. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. i, Not but that we sometimes had those little rubs [etc.]. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 981 Not that he peevishly rejects a mode Because that World adopts it. 1856 F. E. Paget Owlet of Owlst. 52 Not but what I consider discretion to be the better part of valour. 1864 Meredith Belloni xxv, Not that she conceived him designedly base. |
b. Placed first for the sake of emphasis.
| 1554 Philpot Exam. & Writ. (Parker Soc.) 384 Not for this we bring in a church like to thilk city of Plato. 1578 Timme Calvin on Gen. 180 Nevertheless..not they are called righteous, which are perfect in each point. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 26 Yet not the more Cease I to wander. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 413 Nor cou'd his Kindred..change his fatal Course. No, not the dying Maid. 1747 P. Francis tr. Hor. Ep. i. xvii, Not every one shall reach the wisht-for port. 1804 Dr. Parr in Bentham's Wks. (1843) X. 417 Not so doth Godwin and his French followers. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche i. xiii, Not long, I wot, shall that poor girl of Crete God it in my despite. |
c. In contrast with a following but.
| 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. July 115 The hylls..I reverence and adore: Not for themselfe, but for the sayncts [etc.]. 1611 Bible John i. 13 Which were borne, not of blood,..but of God. 1635 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 148 Discovering what it not hid but vailed. 1768 Tucker Lt. Nat. II. 460, I may believe myself—not a perceptivity but a perceptive spirit. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 104 To use their arms in defence, not of the mass book, but of the Bible. 1874 L. Stephen Hours in Library (1892) I. vi. 201 He has peopled not a country town but a metropolis. |
d. Emphasizing a pronoun after a negative statement, or in a reply.
| c 1625 Dekker et al. Witch Edmonton iv. i, He is no Witch, not he. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 218, I challenge you, sir! not I, I made no challenge. 1783 Beckford Dreams, etc. viii. 51 They had no notion, not they, of admiring barren crags and precipices. 1846 Dickens Battle of Life i, ‘Did you never hear [etc.]?’ ‘No, father!’ ‘No, not you, of course; you're a woman.’ 1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat xvii, They are not to be ‘had’ by a bit of worm on the end of a hook,..not they! |
7. a. With terms of number or quantity.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. A. 343 For anger gaynez þe not a cresse. Ibid. 351 Þy mendez mountez not a myte. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 451 Povert.., That not a peny hadde in wolde. a 1400 Pistill of Susan 247, I charge hit not a pere. 1585 Jas. I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 52 Sen though they stay, it harmes him not a hair. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. ii. 67 Ho. I perceiue you delight not in Musique. Iu. Not a whit. 1634 Milton Comus 585 Not a period Shall be unsaid for me. 1663 Butler Hud. i. i. 8 Not a man of them knew wherefore. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 346 He spoke not a Word. Ibid. 496 All this while they fir'd not a Gun. 1817 C. Wolfe Burial Sir J. Moore i, Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. x. II. 599 He solemnly assured them that not a hair of their heads should be touched. |
b. not a little, a good deal, considerably.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur xvii. xvii. 714 Thenne was not he a lytel sory, for launcelot loued hym. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 24 He not a littell mused but muche more mervailed that the duke [etc.]. 1712 Pope Spect. No. 408 ¶7 Young Men whose Passions are not a little unruly. 1838 in Trevelyan Macaulay (1876) II. vii. 2 His visits served not a little to enliven. 1845 M{supc}Culloch Taxation i. ii. (1852) 169 The policy of laying heavy taxes on necessaries is not a little questionable. |
c. not half (see half adv. 3).
d. not all that, not exceptionally (so).
| 1964 T. White tr. Simenon's Maigret & Saturday Caller iv. 70 ‘Were they heavy?’..‘Quite heavy, but not all that.’ 1970 Guardian 24 Jan. 1/5 Asked how he assessed the capacity of the present relief system of the Federal authorities to cope with widespread starvation, Lord Hunt said: ‘Now I don't feel all that confidence in the Nigerian Government's ability to do this.’ Ibid. 28 Jan. 8/3 Without her voice, Callas is not all that impressive an actress. 1974 Sat. Rev. World (U.S.) 19 Oct. 56/2 Several years ago..I asked him, ‘How was the picture?’ He..said, ‘Not all that good.’ The expression ‘not all that good’, as far as I know, was fairly new at the time. |
8. After or, if, or as, with ellipse of words expressed or implied in the preceding clause.
| c 1400 Apol. Loll. 52 A prest weþer he be beneficid or not, he howiþ not to sett to hire his gostly warks. 1503 in Trans. R. Hist. Soc. (1902) 152 Ye knowe whether ye maye truste me or not. 1535 Coverdale Gen. xxiv. 21 Tyll he knewe whether the Lorde had prospered his iourney or not. 1611 Bible Gen. xviii. 21, I will goe downe now, and see whether [etc.]: and if not, I will know. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 125 Shall we give battle..or not? 1738 Pope Universal Prayer 47 Thou know'st if best bestow'd or not. 1857 M. Arnold Rugby Chapel 45 Conscious or not of the past. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 290 If virtue is of such a nature, it will be taught; and if not, not. 1887 F. M. Crawford Saracinesca III. xxxiv. 299, I would just as soon give you up to the Holy Office as not. |
9. Denoting contrast or opposition to what precedes, with or without and.
| 1471 Litt. Red Bk. Bristol (1900) II. 130 Punyshing the principall sturrers of rebellion ayenst vs, and not a generalte. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Communion, They are in heauen and not here. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. To Rdr. 76, I hate their vices, not their persons. 1649 Milton Eikon. 36 Some of thir Friends, and in the Roman not the pettifogging sense thir Clients. 1678 Shadwell Timon iv. ii, They govern for themselves and not the people. 1837 Newman Par. Serm. (ed. 2) III. x. 148 It was a respite, not a resurrection. 1892 Tennyson Doubt & Prayer 12 Till this.., My prison, not my fortress, fall away! |
10. a. With adverbs or adverbial phrases.
| 1475 Paston Lett. III. 123 The Emperor hathe besegyd also, not fferr from these, a castell. c 1500 Melusine 297 And whan Raymondyn perceyued it, wete it wel that he was ryght dolaunt and sorowful & not without cause. 1559 J. Aylmer Harborowe B j, Happening therfore not long agone to rede a lytle booke. a 1648 Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 369 Not long after which..the King sent George Bolen. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) II. 296 His method is still, and not without reason, adopted by many. 1818 Coleridge in Lit. Rem. (1836) I. 167 The titles of the poet..and the general not seldom formed a garland round the same head. 1852 Tennyson Ode Wellington viii, Not once or twice..The path of duty was the way to glory. |
b. Modifying adjectives or participles in agreement with a preceding substantive or pronoun.
| 1529 Cromwell Will in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 63 The residue of all my goodes catalles and debttes not bequethed. 1596 B. Griffin Fidessa 37 Whil'st I..doe sit in heauie plight.., Not daring rush into so rare a place. 1614 R. Tailor Hog hath lost Pearl in Dodsley (1780) VI. 408 Where penitency, not disturb'd may grieve. 1820 Lamb Elia Ser. i. Christ's Hospital, The remnants left at his table (not many, nor very choice fragments). 1844 Kinglake Eothen (1845) 186, I rose from a state of half-oblivion, not much unlike to sleep. 1889 Jerome Idle Thoughts 112 You have got to be regarded as not quite right in your head. |
c. With negative adjectives or adverbs, implying the affirmative term. (See also bad a. 1 c.) Also as n., not-bad.
| 1657 W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life Peiresc i. 69 The study of antiquity was not unusefull towards the knowledge of the Lawes. 1671 H. M. tr. Erasm. Colloq. 85 We say well and elegantly, not ungrateful, for very grateful. 1765 Dickson Treat. Agric. (ed. 2) 200 The damage done by this is not inconsiderable. 1794 Earl Malmesbury Diaries & Corr. III. 117 Not unclever but importunate. 1824 Landor Imag. Conv., Johnson & Tooke, Perhaps the learned author..was not undelighted with the pleasurable vices of poetry in such company. 1843 Thoreau Let. 24 Jan. in Corr. (1958) 77 He is, at any rate, one of the not-bad. 1871 Geo. Eliot Middlem. I. i. ix. 128 She had got nothing from him more graphic about the Lowick cottages than that they were ‘not bad’. 1900 G. C. Brodrick Mem. 168 A certain air of dignity, not unmingled with insolence. 1973 A. Ross Dunfermline Affair 41 A not-bad job, Farrow. Not bad at all. 1975 Times 20 Sept. 8/5 Brian Armstrong's Bags of Swank consisted of three not-bad scripts about his National Service. |
† 11. not but, only. = nobbut. Obs.
For other forms of sentence in which not is followed by but, see but conj. 4 c, 7 b, c, 9, 16.
| c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Mars 121 Not but two pases within the yate hit stode. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) viii. 96 Betwene that Mount and the Cytee, is not but the Vale of Josaphathe. c 1477 Caxton Jason 14 All his desir is not but for to mowe come to your goode grace. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 975 Quhair I gat not bot ansueir detestine. |
B. n.
† 1. Nought, nothing. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 216 Þe lord þat made alle þingis of not. c 1380 ― Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 94 He haþ drede of þing of not. c 1400 Love Bonavent. Mirr. (1907) 92 It was nouȝt for not that they tauȝten..hem [etc.]. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour vi. (1868) 9 In suche wise that euer after the housholde yede to not. 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 508 Tak the a fidill,..thou art ordanyt to not ellis! |
2. The word ‘not’; a negation or negative.
| 1601 Shakes. All's Well iii. ii. 24, I haue wedded her, not bedded her, and sworne to make the not eternall. 1608 H. Clapham Errour Left Hand 82 They still doe returne us a not. 1621 Lady M. Wroth Urania 420 Come backe to me, who neuer knew the plot To crosse your minde, or to thy will an nott. 1866 Lowell Biglow P., Introd., Poems 1890 II. 201, I guess ef I was to leave the nots out o' some o' the c'man'ments, 't 'ould soot you full ez wall! |
3. Computers. (Usu. written in capitals.) A Boolean function of one variable that has the value unity if the variable is zero, and vice versa. Usu. attrib. or as adj.
| 1947 Proc. IRE XXXV. 758/2 The ‘not’ operation is..performed by an inverter tube. 1950 W. W. Stifler High-Speed Computing Devices xiii. 270 This device, called a half adder, will consist of and, or, and not circuits..arranged so as to carry out the operations exemplified in Table 13–1. 1955 R. K. Richards Arithmetic Operations in Digital Computers ii. 29 A fundamental concept which is found in Boolean algebra and which has no counterpart in ordinary algebra is the ‘not’ function, as indicated by a line over a symbol. 1957 Goode & Machol System. Engin. xxv. 394 There is..evidence that certain synapses are inhibitory, i.e. not gates. 1969 P. B. Jordain Condensed Computer Encycl. 341 NOT is a unary operation since it has only one argument, and it is one of the most fundamental logic operators. 1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing i. 26 All logical connections between two-valued variables can be expressed by means of the three functions NOT, AND, and OR. 1972 IEEE Trans. Computers XXI. 153/2 When digital computers are synthesized with gates other than AND, OR, and NOT gates, it is difficult to design optimal..networks directly from the Boolean expressions. |
C. Comb.
1. a. With verbal substantives.
| 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 3 b, If the notknowing of God be any where to be found. 1587 Golding De Mornay xvi. (1592) 262 Goodnes is not a defect or a notdooing of things. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 270 Heele answer no body: he professes not answering. 1652 Gataker Antinom. 25 The not drowning of the whole world again. 1695 J. Edwards Perfect. Script. 50 The difference of the idiom was sufficient to beget a not-understanding of one another. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones viii. vi, Danger might attend the not dressing his wound. 1816 Byron Let. to Murray 20 Feb., You must not mistake my not bullying for dejection. 1858 H. W. Beecher Life Thoughts (1859) 130 His rests and not-doings seem even more significant than that which was overt. |
† b. With nouns of action. Obs. (Common in 17th cent.; now expressed by non-.)
| 1582 Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 531 His dissobedience in not comperance befoir the Kingis Majestie. 1590 Ibid. IV. 521 For not-payment of ministeris stipendis. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iv. i. 30 For not Appearance, and The Kings late Scruple,..she was diuorc'd. a 1643 D. Digges Unlawf. Armes (1647) 102 [They] redeemed their not obedience to him, by offering up their bodies. 1675 J. Smith Chr. Relig. App. ii. 44 They could not impute their not-recovery to their want of will, but skill. |
† c. With agent-nouns. Obs. (Now non-.)
| 1596 Spenser Hymn Love 159 How falles it then that..Thou doest afflict..the not-deserver? 1619 Sanderson Serm. I. 11 The eater despised the not-eater, and the eater judged the not-eater. 1651 Rec. Communion §4 To communicate with not-discerners. 1680 H. More Apocal. Apoc. 213 If both the Beheaded and the Not-worshippers of the Beast were of the same kind. |
d. With other types of nouns. Also not-self.
| 1575 Fenton Gold. Epist. (1582) 85 Our merite or not merite standes not in the seruices which we do to God. 1599 Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 180 The not possibilitie of erring being..peculiar unto God. 1627 W. Sclater Exp. 2 Thess. (1629) 14 It's something, at least a not-nothing. 1645 Howell Twelve Treat. (1661) 360 Issuing rather from his not-knowledge of me, than from malice. 1740 Cheyne Regimen 311 It must be actually brought to be not-matter. 1818 Bentham Ch. Eng. Catech. Exam. 171 In case of not-guiltiness. 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 452 What He attributes to idols, i.e. not-gods. 1867 Mill Exam. Hamilton's Philos. (ed. 3) xiii. 289 A complete idea of a closed figure, and of the boundary which incloses it—the outline separating object from not-object. |
2. a. With adjectives or past participles.
| 1587 Golding De Mornay i. 3 Wether was first,..of Sensible or Notsensible, of Reasonable, or Notreasonable? 1599 [see next]. a 1643 D. Digges Unlawf. Armes (1647) 124 By the unspeakable scandal of these not-Christian courses. 1663 Boyle Usef. Exp. Nat. Philos. i. 15 And I have..made in that admirable Stone a not-inconsiderable Experiment. 1774 S. Hallifax Anal. Rom. Law 117 Punishments..short of Natural or Civil Death, were called Not-Capital. 1819 Hermit in London III. 171 Her not-stinted foot was pinched into pink satin shoes. 1874 Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) III. 191 The product of a cross between not-related ants. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 376 Evil is a greater enemy to good than to the not-good. |
b. With present participles.
| 1599 Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 115 Their not-erring and not controllable Lord of Rome. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. ii. iv. 19 You shall heare The Legion..sooner landed In our not-fearing-Britaine. 1654 Gataker Disc. Apol. 48 Some not-preaching Ministers. 1675 Woodhead, etc. Par. St. Paul 17 It was a law then which made not-knowing infants also guilty. 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 1226 The village toast..Darts not-unmeaning looks. 1762 Bp. Forbes Jrnl. (1886) 215 He asked me how the not-swearing clergy lived now. 1853 Markham Skoda's Auscult. 204 The sound produced by striking together two hard, not-ringing (nicht-klingend) bodies. 1863 J. Brown Marjorie Fleming, Rab & F. (1906) 85 A man..to give a second and not-forgetting look at. |
c. With adjectival phrases.
| 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) III. 1365 Accept my thankes, though they proceed out of a not enough circumcised heart. 1678 Vaughan Thalia Rediv., The World (1858) 234 The not-to-be-repented Shares Of time and business. 1863 A. C. Ramsay Phys. Geogr. 13 The not-long extinct volcano of the Island of Ascension. 1882 Wallace in Nature XXVI. 86 Close individual resemblance of not-nearly-related species of butterflies. |
d. Freq. with so or too and an adj. forming combs. used as n., adv., or adj.
| 1748 Richardson Clarissa II. xiii. 72, I [say]..she is too wise; that is to say..Not so young as she has been. 1851 Lytton (title) Not so bad as we seem. 1866 Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. I. xxi. 235 It was also evident to her that Osborne was not too happy at home. 1870 Geo. Eliot Let. 15 Nov. (1956) V. 120 We..cannot yet decide whether we should..have a modest little refuge in the not-too-distant country. 1931 J. S. Huxley What dare I Think? vi. 190 Man believing himself the inhabitant of the Universe's central globe,..looking forward to a not-too-distant end of this terrestrial home, cannot well have the same religion as man knowing himself descended by slow evolution from the brutes. 1935 Discovery Sept. 262/1 The not-so-distant days of the pirates. 1941 M. Allingham Traitor's Purse xx. 229 ‘I say, it's pretty serious, isn't it?’ He nodded. ‘Not so hot. Time's short.’ 1943 G. Ade Let. 5 Feb. (1973) 238 The not-so-good-news in regard to the soy bean crop does not come as a surprise. 1945 [see atomic a. 2 f]. 1945 Sun (Baltimore) 29 Oct. 4 A British rubber inspection committee sent out to the plantations of Malaya..reported today that conditions were ‘not too bad’. 1951 S. Spender World within World iii. 143 One of their not-too-distant neighbours was Lytton Strachey. 1952 A. G. L. Hellyer Sanders' Encycl. Gardening (ed. 22) 270 Soil, cool, slightly moist, and a not-too-hot position in the rock garden. 1955 Radio Times 22 Apr. 5/1 Where the making of home entertainment is not just a pleasant memory of the not-so-young. 1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 13 Dec. 762/5 The not-so-rich lady in the subway solemnly knitting a double-necked jersey. 1960 Guardian 20 May 4/5 Access is limited for the not-so-young, the not-so-robust, and those who like to amble. 1962 R. H. Smythe Anatomy of Dog Breeding iv. 77 Bred from ancestors of not-so-long-ago. 1965 Listener 27 May 766/2 They accepted all the good things..and the not-so-good things, with fatalistic acquiescence. 1971 Good Motoring Sept. 3 This incredible phenomenon is the Giant's Causeway, known to most people by pictorial sight but, oddly, not too many know its location. 1972 E. Lemarchand Cyanide with Compliments i. 3 Olivia watched the launch filling up. The not-so-young predominated. 1974 Sat. Rev. World (U.S.) 19 Oct. 41/1 All of this is seen through the eyes of a not-too-bright country boy. |
3. With adverbs. rare.
| 1648 Boyle Seraph. Love xvii. (1700) 106 The not-wilfully refusing it. 1726 S. Lowe Lat. Gram. 33 Interrogatives us'd not-interrogatively. |
4. With infinitives after does not, etc. rare.
| 1626 W. Fenner Hid. Manna (1656) 62 A wicked man doth not, not repent, because hee cannot, but because he will not. 1656 [? J. Sergeant] tr. T. White's Peripat. Inst. 227 He that knows a thing exists knows that it does not not-exist. 1890 Stirling Gifford Lect. xvi. 318 The very thought of God is of that which is, and cannot not-be. |
▸ colloq.perhaps influenced by nit adv. (see J. T. Sheidlower and J. E. Lighter in Amer. Speech (1993) 68 213–8). In later use, popularized by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey in the ‘Wayne's World’ sketches on the NBC television programme Saturday Night Live from 1989, and especially by the spin-off film Wayne's World in 1992. Used humorously following a statement to indicate that it should not be taken seriously (usually because the idea expressed is untrue or unlikely to happen), or sarcastically to negate a statement made immediately before. Cf. I don't think at think v.2 11c.
| [1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss III. vi. vi. 90 She would make a sweet, strange, troublesome, adorable wife to some man or other, but he would never have chosen her himself. Did she feel as he did? He hoped she did—not.] 1888 Cincinnati Times-Star 26 July 2/2 Of course ‘White Wings’ was mourned because he was hissed. Yes he did—not!!! 1893 Princeton Tiger 30 Mar. 103 An Historical Parallel—Not. 1900 G. Ade More Fables 80 Probably they preferred to go back to the Front Room and hear some more about Woman's Destiny not. 1905E. P. Butler Pigs is Pigs in Amer. Mag. Sept. 499 Oh, yes! ‘Mister Morehouse, two an' a quarter, plaze.’ ‘Cert'nly, me dear frind Flannery. Delighted!’ Not! 1950 R. Stout In Best Families vii. 73 The cop..called, ‘Pull over to the curb.’ Flattered at the attention as any motorist would be, not, I obeyed. 1975 E. Wilson Twenties 323 Held up by cyclone at South Amboy—‘wicked little boy who kept jeering at us, {oqq}You'll get there tonight—not!{cqq}’ 1991 M. Myers et al. Wayne's World (film script, final revision) 89 Well, I'm having a good time so far..not. It sucks baby Rhino. 2000F. Walker Power of Two in J. Adams et al. Girls' Night In 48 Vizza revelled in increasingly outlandish exclusives, revealing his broken heart. Yeah. Like he knew how it felt—not. |
▪ V. not
obs. variant of nut n.