Word of the Day: Naught

naught

naught / nôt

 

adjective

1. (archaic) meaningless; useless

Good impulses are naught, unless they become good actions.

Joseph Joubert, 1754 – 1824

 

2. (archaic) corrupt; bad; ruined; worthless

O it is a happy thing to feel ourselves helpless and naught, for then the presence of God is felt to wrap us about so lovingly!

William Mountford, 1816 – 1885

 

adverb

1. (obsolete) not at all

He who does not fear death cares naught for threats.

Pierre Corneille, 1606 – 1684

 

noun

1. nothing; not anything

The deed is everything, the glory is naught.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, 1749 – 1832

 

2. zero; the math symbol 0

The subtraction according to the first principle is: Naught minus naught equals naught.

From “The Indiana School Journal, Volume 34”, Indiana State Teachers Association, Indiana, Department of Public Instruction, 1889