Flannery O'Connor
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Nary, most often used in the phrase "nary a" to mean "not a single," is an 18th-century alteration of the adjectival phrase "ne'er a," in which ne'er is a contraction of never. That contraction dates to the 13th century, and the word it abbreviates is even older: never can be traced back to Old English nǣfre, a combination of ne ("not" or "no") and ǣfre ("ever"). Old English ne also combined with ā ("always") to give us nā, the Old English ancestor of our no. Ā, from the Latin aevum ("age" or "lifetime") and Greek aiōn ("age"), is related to the English adverb aye, meaning "always, continually, or ever." This aye (pronounced to rhyme with say) is unrelated to the more familiar aye (pronounced to rhyme with sigh) used as a synonym of yes.
Examples of nary in a Sentence
Izzy Baskette, People.com, 22 Apr. 2025
There’s nary a Jedi or lightsaber to be found, but Andor is filled with espionage and political intrigue, following characters who are either deeply embedded in the Empire or the fledgling Rebellion, or looking to take the leap on either side.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2025
Holy Electricity contains nary a clichéd or predictable image, nor one scenario Kotetishvili doesn’t exploit for all its comedic, dramatic, and emotional potential.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2025
In the living room, the sofa pillows stood perfectly upright, and there was nary a water ring on any of the polished furniture.
—Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 6 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Nary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nary. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
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