古英語のnawiht, withoutから、na, withoutから、語源的にはnoと同じ、wiht, a littleから、語源的にはwhitと同じ。
英語の語源
naught (n.)
Old English nawiht "nothing," lit "no whit," from na "no" (from PIE root *ne- "no, not;" see un- (1)) + wiht "thing, creature, being" (see wight). Cognate with Old Saxon neowiht "nothing," Old High German niwiht, Gothic ni waihts. It also developed an adjectival sense in Old English, "good for nothing," which by mid-16c. had focused to "morally bad, wicked." In arithmetic, "the figure zero" from 1640s.
例文
1. Most election promses can be set at naught .
選挙の公約はほとんど価値がない。dd>
2.He sets at naught every convention of society.
彼はすべての社会的慣習を軽視している。
3.All our good planning came to naught .
私たちのすべての良い計画結果は水の泡になった。
4.How many imperial inches are in one metric centimetre？— Naught point three nine three seven inches.
1 cmは何インチに等しいですか？——0.397インチに等しい.
5.Like the Tehran experience，the shredding may be all for naught .