ne

The word “ne” means an archaic word meaning "not.". In plain terms, an old English word for "not" or "nor," found mainly in archaic or poetic writing.

“Ne” is pronounced nuh (/nə/ in IPA).

Here is “ne” used in a sentence: “He knew not, ne cared, what would happen next.”

Depending on how it is used, “ne” can be an adverb and a conjunction.

The word “ne” comes from Old English. From Old English ne, "not," from a common Germanic and Indo-European negative particle.

“Ne” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Ne” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: an archaic word meaning "not.".

Ne was the basic negative word, placed directly before the verb to mean "not", and it also served as a conjunction meaning "nor". It frequently contracted with common verbs — ne wolde became nolde ("would not") — and it was often paired with a second negative for emphasis, since double negatives were normal grammar at the time.

No — ne is archaic and appears only in historical texts or deliberately old-fashioned writing. A fossil of it survives in the phrase willy-nilly, from "will he, nill he", where nill combines ne and will to mean "not want".

They are separate words in separate languages, but they do the same job: both are negative particles meaning "not". English ne died out centuries ago, while French ne is still standard today in pairings such as ne ... pas; both ultimately descend from the same ancient Indo-European negative root.