neque

Latin

Alternative forms

• nec

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *nekʷe (“and not, neither, nor”), from *ne (“not”) + *-kʷe (“and”). Cognate with Proto-Celtic *nekʷe, whence Irish nach; Proto-Germanic *nehw, whence Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌷 (nih). Equivalent to Old Latin ne (“not”) + -que (“and”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈne.kʷe/, [ˈnɛkʷɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈne.kwe/, [ˈnɛːkwe]

Adverb

neque (not comparable)

1. not

Usage notes

• In Old Latin, the nec form often appeared where one might expect nōn. Classical use confined it to certain formulae, as nec opināns, nec procul abesse, nec mancipī and others.

Conjunction

neque

1. and not, also not

   neque ... neque (or neque ... et)

   neither ... nor

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.30:

     neque se in occultum abdiderat et conspectum multitudinis fugerat

     And neither had concealed himself nor shunned the eyes of the people

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.380:

     “Neque tē teneō, neque dicta refellō.”

     “I neither detain you, nor refute [what you] have said.”

Derived terms

• nequeō

Descendants

• Aromanian: nitsi
• Romanian: nici

References

• “neque”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “neque”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• neque in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • I am losing my eyesight and getting deaf: neque auribus neque oculis satis consto
    
  • there is nothing strange in that: neque id mirum est or videri debet
    
  • and rightly too: neque immerito (iniuria)
    
  • and rightly too: neque id immerito (iniuria)