non-
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnɒn/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnɑn/
Audio (US) (file)
Etymology 1
From Middle English non- (“not, lack of, failure to”), from Middle English non (“no, not any; not, not at all”, literally “none”) and Old English nān- (prefix), both from Old English nān (“no, not any”), from Proto-West Germanic *nain, from Proto-Germanic *nainaz (“none, nought, zero”), see none. Merged with and reinforced by Middle English non- (“not”), from Old French non- and Medieval Latin nōn (“not”), from Old Latin noinu, noinom, from ne oinom (“not one”).
Prefix
non-
- Used in the sense of no or none, to show lack of or failure to perform; or in the sense of not, to negate the meaning of the word to which it is prefixed.
- nonpayment (“lack of payment, failure to pay”)
- nonaggressive (“not aggressive”)
- Not, the negation of the root word (a quality).
- nonaboriginal is a person who is not aboriginal, nonabrasive is a substance that is not abrasive, nonabstract is not abstract
- Absence, the absence of the root (a quantity).
- nonaccountability is absence of accountability, nonacceleration is lack of acceleration, nonaction is the absence of action; failure to act
- Avoiding an action.
- nonabiding is the practice of avoiding mental constructs during daily life, nonacceptance is a neglect or refusal to accept, nonaccumulative is tending to avoid accumulation
- Neutral in quality.
- nonaccent is a spoken accent that is neutral and undistinctive; nonacrocentric is having the centromere near the middle, and thus having roughly equal-sized arms; nonaccent is an unaccented beat or syllable, as in music or poetry
Usage notes
- Non- may be attached to nouns (nonspace), adjectives (nonaggressive), adverbs (nonaggressively, nonstop), or—infrequently—even verbs (nontender).
- Non- may be joined to a word with a hyphen, standard in British usage as evidenced by OED's typically including only the hyphenated forms, but some OED entries are spelled without hyphen only. In American usage, non- is often joined without a hyphen. (For example, nonbaseball is relatively common, but noncricket, referring to a primarily British sport, is rare.) Some non- words rarely or never use a hyphen (such as nonentity). By contrast, un- is almost always spelled without a hyphen. GPO manual item 6.29. recommends to spell non- prefixed words without a hyphen unless an overriding consideration applies.[1]
- For combinations with capitalized words such as proper nouns and some adjectives, hyphen is almost always used, e.g. non-Aristotelian or non-English. This matches GPO manual recommendation.[1]
- Semantically, non- suggests objective quality and logical opposition (hence ungradable), whereas un- suggests subjective quality and polar/diametric opposition (often gradable).
- Meaning "not" in phrases taken from Latin and some other languages, non is a separate word and is not hyphenated: non compos mentis, persona non grata.
- As non- is a living and highly productive prefix, the list of words having the prefix non- is practically unlimited: Wiktionary currently has over 9000 such word forms. It is particularly common in the sciences.
Synonyms
Derived terms
- nonaccessible
- non-Abelian
- non-absorbent
- non-academic
- non-academic
- nonaccident
- nonabsorbed
- nonacidophile
- nonaccusative
- nonacquaintance
- nonaccrual
- nonacrophonic
- nonabused
- nonacronymous
- nonabsorbable
- nonaborigine
- nonabstainer
- nonaboriginal
- nonabrasive
- nonacid
- nonactinide
- nonabridgment
- nonacceptation
- nonaccumulation
- nonabsence
- nonacid
- nonabandoned
- nonabdominal
- nonabductive
- nonabelian
- nonaberrant
- nonabhorrent
- nonabject
- nonablated
- non-able-bodied
- nonabnormal
- nonaboriginal
- nonaborted
- nonaborting
- nonabortive
- nonabradable
- nonabrasive
- nonabrupt
- nonabsent
- nonabsolute
- nonabsolutist
- nonabsolvable
- nonabsorbent
- nonabsorptive
- nonabstaining
- nonabstemious
- nonabstinent
- nonabstract
- nonabstracted
- nonabstractive
- non-abstruse
- nonabsurd
- nonabundant
- nonabusable
- nonabusive
- nonabutting
- nonacademic
- nonacceding
- nonaccelerating
- nonaccented
- nonaccentual
- nonacceptable
- nonacceptant
- nonaccepted
- nonaccepting
- nonaccessory
- nonaccidental
- nonacclimated
- nonacclimating
- nonaccommodative
- nonaccompanying
- nonaccomplishable
- nonaccomplished
- nonaccountable
- nonaccreditable
- nonaccredited
- nonaccretional
- nonaccretive
- nonaccruable
- nonacculturative
- nonaccumulating
- nonaccumulative
- nonaccurate
- nonaccursed
- nonaccusatory
- nonacerbic
- nonacetabular
- nonacetic
- nonacetogenic
- nonacetylated
- nonachievable
- nonachieved
- nonachromatic
- nonacicular
- nonacid-proof
- nonacidemic
- nonacidic
- nonacidified
- nonacidogenic
- nonacidophilic
- nonacidotic
- nonacidulous
- nonacknowledged
- nonacneiform
- nonacnegenic
- nonacoustic
- nonacoustical
- nonacquainted
- nonacquiescent
- nonacquiescing
- nonacquirable
- nonacquired
- nonacquisitional
- nonacquisitive
- nonacral
- nonacrid
- nonacrimonious
- nonacrobatic
- nonacrophobic
- nonacrosomal
- nonacrylic
- nonactable
- nonacting
- nonactinic
- nonactionable
- nonactivatable
- nonactivated
- nonactivational
- nonactivatory
- nonactive
- nonactively
- nonactivistic
- nonactorish
- nonactorly
- nonactual
- nonactualizable
- nonactualized
- nonactuarial
- nonactuatable
- nonaculeate
- nonaccompanied
- nonabscessed
- nonacrostic
- nonaccounting
- nonacetate
- nonacting
- nonabuser
- nonaccepter
- nonabuser
- nonacademic
- nonaccountant
- nonactivist
- nonachiever
- nonachiever
- nonactor
- nonaccomplishment
- nonachievement
- nonabsorbing
- nonaching
- nonacknowledging
- nonactivating
- nonablative
- nonabsorbable
- nonact
- nonacceptability
- nonacquisitiveness
- nonactuality
- nonaccelerated
- nonaccommodating
- nonaccompanied
- nonacculturated
- nonaccustomed
- nonacoptic
- nonability
- nonabsorbing
- nonacetylation
- nonacidity
- nonabsentative
- nonaccession
- nonabsolutism
- nonacquaintance
- nonabandonment
- nonabdication
- nonabolition
- nonabstention
- nonaccess
- nonaccountability
- nonaccretion
- nonacknowledgment
- nonacquisition
- nonacquittal
- nonactivity
- nonabsolution
- nonacceleration
- nonaccommodation
- nonaccompaniment
- nonaccreditation
- nonacquiescence
- nonactivism
- nonaccrued
- nonabsorption
- nonaction
- nonactivation
- nonability
Translations
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References
- 6. Compounding Rules in U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual, govinfo.gov
Further reading
- “non-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “non-”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.
Danish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈnʌn/, /ˈnʌnˀ/, /nʌnˈ/
Derived terms
References
- “non-” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /noːn/
Audio (file)
Derived terms
See also
- Category:nl:Hydrocarbon chain prefixes
Indonesian
Etymology
From English non-, from Middle English non- (“not, lack of, failure to”), from Middle English non (“no, not any; not, not at all”, literally “none”), from Old English nān (“no, not any”), see none. Merged with and reinforced by Middle English non- (“not”), from Old French non- and Medieval Latin nōn (“not”), from Old Latin noinu, noinom, from ne oinom (“not one”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈnɔn]
- Hyphenation: non
Prefix
non-
Derived terms
Further reading
- “non-” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.