none

8 results for: none

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

1 Audio Help [nuhn]

–pronoun

1.	no one; not one: None of the members is going.

2.	not any, as of something indicated: None of the pie is left. That is none of your business.

3.	no part; nothing: I'll have none of your backtalk!

4.	(used with a plural verb) no or not any persons or things: I left three pies on the table and now there are none. None were left when I came.

–adverb

5.	to no extent; in no way; not at all: The supply is none too great.

–adjective

6.	Archaic. not any; no (usually used only before a vowel or h): Thou shalt have none other gods but me.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME non, OE nān, equiv. to ne not + ān one

Usage note:
Since none has the meanings “not one” and “not any,” some insist that it always be treated as a singular and be followed by a singular verb: The rescue party searched for survivors, but none was found. However, none has been used with both singular and plural verbs since the 9th century. When the sense is “not any persons or things” (as in the example above), the plural is more common: … none were found. Only when none is clearly intended to mean “not one” or “not any” is it followed by a singular verb: Of all my articles, none has received more acclaim than my latest one.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

none

2 Audio Help [nohn]

–noun

nones ¹ .

Origin:
1175–1225; ME; OE nōn < L nōna (hōra) ninth (hour). See noon

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

none Audio Help (nŭn)

pron.

No one; not one; nobody: None dared to do it.
Not any: None of my classmates survived the war.
No part; not any: none of your business.

adv.

Not at all: He is none too ill.
In no way: The jeans looked none the better for having been washed.

[Middle English, from Old English nān : ne, no, not; see ne in Indo-European roots + ān, one; see oi-no- in Indo-European roots.]

Usage Note: It is widely asserted that none is equivalent to no one, and hence requires a singular verb and singular pronoun: None of the prisoners was given his soup. It is true that none is etymologically derived from the Old English word ān, "one," but the word has been used as both a singular and a plural noun from Old English onward. The plural usage appears in the King James Bible as well as the works of John Dryden and Edmund Burke and is widespread in the works of respectable writers today. Of course, the singular usage is perfectly acceptable. The choice between a singular or plural verb depends on the desired effect. Both options are acceptable in this sentence: None of the conspirators has (or have) been brought to trial. When none is modified by almost, however, it is difficult to avoid treating the word as a plural: Almost none of the officials were (not was) interviewed by the committee. None can only be plural in its use in sentences such as None but his most loyal supporters believe (not believes) his story. See Usage Notes at every, neither, nothing.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
none

O.E. nan "not one, not any," from ne "not" (see no) + an "one." Cognate with O.S., M.L.G. nen, O.N. neinn, M.Du., Du. neen, O.H.G., Ger. nein "no," and analogous to L. non- (see non-). As an adj., since c.1600 reduced to no except in a few archaic phrases, especially before vowels, such as none other, none the worse.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

none
adjective
1.	not any; "thou shalt have none other gods before me"
adverb
1.	not at all or in no way; "seemed none too pleased with his dinner"; "shirt looked none the worse for having been slept in"; "none too prosperous"; "the passage is none too clear"
noun
1.	a canonical hour that is the ninth hour of the day counting from sunrise
2.	a service in the Roman Catholic Church formerly read or chanted at 3 PM (the ninth hour counting from sunrise) but now somewhat earlier

American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

none

In addition to the idioms beginning with none, also see all (none) of the above; bar none; not have it (have none of); second to none.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

None

None\, a. & pron. [OE. none, non, nan, no, na, AS. n[=a]n, fr. ne not + [=a]n one. ?. See No, a. & adv., One, and cf. Non-, Null, a.]

1. No one; not one; not anything; -- frequently used also partitively, or as a plural, not any.

There is none that doeth good; no, not one. --Ps. xiv. 3.

Six days ye shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none. --Ex. xvi. 26.

Terms of peace yet none Vouchsafed or sought. --Milton.

None of their productions are extant. --Blair.

2. No; not any; -- used adjectively before a vowel, in old style; as, thou shalt have none assurance of thy life.

None of, not at all; not; nothing of; -- used emphatically. "They knew that I was none of the register that entered their admissions in the universities." --Fuller.

None-so-pretty (Bot.), the Saxifraga umbrosa. See London pride (a), under London.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

None

None\, n. [F.] Same as Nones, 2.

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