nought 的词源

中世纪英语词源于古英语 nowiht，意为“无物”或“没有任何东西”，其变体为 nawiht（参见 naught）。“零”或“数字零”的含义出现在15世纪初。短语 for nought，意为“徒劳无功”，可以追溯到大约1200年。表达 come to nought 则出现在15世纪初（become to naught, ycome to naught 形式的记录可追溯至约1300年）。

naught, nought. The variation of spelling is not a modern accident, but descends from Old English. The distinction, however, now usually observed between the senses borne by each form is a matter of convenience only, & by no means universally recognized. This distinction is that nought is simply the name of the cipher 0, while the archaic, poetic, & rhetorical uses in which the word is substituted for nothing in any other than the arithmetical sense now prefer naught. [Fowler, "Modern English Usage," 1926]

naught, nought. 这两种拼写的差异并非现代偶然现象，而是源自古英语。然而，如今通常区分这两种形式所代表的意义，仅仅是出于便利，并非普遍认可。这种区分是：nought 仅仅是数字零的名称，而古老、诗意和修辞的用法中，除了数学意义外，其他场合更倾向于用 naught 替代 nothing。 [Fowler, "Modern English Usage," 1926]