Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- pro. Anything whatever: "Neither of his parents had aught but praise for him” ( Louis Auchincloss).
- adv. Archaic In any respect; at all.
- n. A cipher; zero.
- n. Archaic Nothing.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Anything whatever; any part: used in interrogative, negative, and conditional sentences.
- In any respect; in any way; at all; by any chance.
- An obsolete form of ought.
- n. Possession; property.
- n. An obsolete or dialectal form of eight.
Wiktionary
- pro. anything
- n. zero
- n. The digit zero as the decade in years. For example, aught-nine for 1909 or 2009.
- n. Property; possession
- adv. At all, in any degree.
- v. to own, possess
- v. to owe, be obliged or obligated to
- adj. possessed of
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Property; possession.
- n. Anything; any part.
- adv. At all; in any degree.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a quantity of no importance
Etymologies
- Middle English, from Old English āuht; see aiw- in Indo-European roots.From an aught, alteration of a naught; see naught.
Examples
“Is there aught," she panted, "_aught_ that could come between your soul and mine?”
“Cause his mum didn't have no money to dress him in aught but a suit of rags, stitched up from scraps of handmedowns and castoffs what had been worn to nothing and chucked away.”
“Drunken with the wine of success deep-quaffed, without superstition and without faith in aught but its own ascendant star, laughing at the wreckage of science and mad with pride of race, it went forth upon the way of war.”
“Well, Anibal threw a no-hitter last night, the first since another guy I've laughed at a lot over the years (not because of his name but because, well, he's damn funny looking) threw a perfect game against my beloved Bravos back in aught four.”
“Now when the Commander of the Faithful heard this verse, he was moved to great delight and his sister said to him, “O my brother, whoso decideth in aught against himself, him it behoveth to abide by it and do according to his word; and thou hast judged against thyself by this judgement.””
“Tarkanan by the remnants of his host of what had befallen his son, whereat he slept not neither took delight in aught, and he was troubled with sore trouble.”
“Moreover I have sworn an oath not to tread their soil nor transgress against them in aught; so how shall this man come at the daughter of the Great King, and who hath power to bring him to her or help him in this matter?”
“Far be it from me to gainsay thee in aught, for I am indebted to thee for many favours and bounties and much kindness, and (praised be Allah!)”
“We will do thee no upright, O my son, nor wrong thee in aught; but our object is that thou bend thy gracious steps with me to my mistress, to receive her answer and return in weal and safety: and thou shalt have a handsome present as one who bringeth good news.”
““Command me as thou wilt: I will not gainsay thee in aught; no, never, for I am the freedman of thy bounty.””
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘aught’.
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Archaic
abide, abjure, abroad, adamant, afield, aforetime, aghast, anon, apace, argent, assuage, aught and 327 more...
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Tolkien's archaisms
sigaldry, moot, kine, fey, eyot, ghylls, gangrel, glede, ilexes, laved, niggard, league and 44 more...
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Antagonyms
Words that are their own antonyms
cleave, bolt, apology, custom, aught, inflammable, sanction, prize
revengeance "LYSANDER: Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth;
But either it was different in blood -"
William Shakespeare, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Jan 12, 2012
bilby
And thou art dead, as young and fair
As aught of mortal birth;
And form so soft, and charms so rare,
Too soon return'd to Earth!
Though Earth receiv'd them in her bed,
And o'er the spot the crowd may tread
In carelessness or mirth,
There is an eye which could not brook
A moment on that grave to look.
- Lord Byron, 'And Thou Art Dead, As Young and Fair'. Sep 30, 2009
bilby "As I went my way I sifted this thing, and could not get quit of it. I found the most weighty arguments against the Creator’s arbitrariness in letting me pay for all the others’ sins. Even after I had found a seat and sat down, the query persisted in occupying me, and prevented me from thinking of aught else."
- Knut Hamsun, 'Hunger'. Jul 25, 2009
oroboros All v. nothing. May 23, 2008