Aught vs. Naught

Aught vs. Naught Aught vs. Naught Aught vs. Naught By Mark Nichol Aught and naught both mean â€Å"nothing.† Ought they to be antonyms rather than synonyms? Actually, aught means â€Å"something† or â€Å"anything†; it’s from the Old English word awiht, meaning â€Å"ever a thing.† (The second syllable is cognate with whit, meaning â€Å"very small thing,† and wight, meaning â€Å"living being,† though the latter is also used sometimes in an older sense of â€Å"ghost† or â€Å"spirit.†) However, the negative sense of the term is a result of false division, the same grammatical affliction that produced adder, the name for a type of snake, when the phrase â€Å"a nadder† was, over time, redivided as â€Å"an adder.† Aught in the sense of â€Å"nothing† derives from naught (from the Old English nawiht, meaning â€Å"not a thing†). Now, people sometimes therefore use aught when they mean naught. (Naught, by the way, is the root of the adjective naughty; to be naughty is to lack something- namely, compunction or moral character.) And though aught is often used in British English to mean â€Å"all,† it can also mean â€Å"zero,† as when someone refers to something having occurred in â€Å"aught five† (2005); it’s also used in American English to refer to the gauge of a wire or (alone and in combination with double and triple) of buckshot that fills a shotgun shell. Ought and nought are variants of aught and naught. Though ought is obsolete in this sense, nought persists in being used in place of naught, as in â€Å"noughts and crosses,† the British English name for tic-tac-toe. The sense of ought used in the first sentence of this post, meanwhile, is unrelated. Originally, in Old English and Middle English, earlier versions of ought served as the past tense of owe. The word lost this sense hundreds of years ago, but we still use it with to to mean should in the sense of advisability, consequence, expectation, or obligation in such sentences as â€Å"She ought to know better.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Meaning of "To a T"English Grammar 101: Verb Mood25 Favorite Portmanteau Words

12 Best Gift Ideas for College Students. EssaySupply.com

12 Best Gift Ideas for College Students 12 Best Gift Ideas for College Students We all want to make sure that everyone has a great Christmas. However, it's hard to choose what to get them. Some people we want to get them presents that we know that they'll use or have a practical purpose. Others, we think that they could use or want something on the fun side. Either way finding a present for everyone can be difficult, especially for a college student. They're young, so they'll want the same things they've always wanted, toys, video games, or whatever else they like. However this is their first time living on their own, so you may be tempted to buy them things such as glass and cookware sets. Well here are the 12 best gifts for college students. 1. Kindle Nothing will ever replace fresh ink on paper. However, the Kindle is great for travel. They can carry virtually every single book in the world right in the palm of their hands! After all, who has the energy to carry around every single book they have just for a week long trip? 2. Chrome cast Your child probably has a television, Netflix, and the internet. But they might not have cable or a way to really enjoy that flat screen. Well with the Chrome cast they can simply plug the device in, enter in their connection info and voila! Now they can host their next movie night. 3. Coffee maker with auto start College is hard and tiring; coffee is a must for students as it helps them get through the day. However, sometimes your students won't have time to brew a full pot in the morning. Getting them a programmable coffee maker will help them through their morning routine. 4. Breakfast Sandwich Maker Another way to make your child's mornings easier. After all the foundation of a good day starts with a healthy breakfast. 5. Soda Stream Soda can get expensive, and sometimes the syrup to carbonation can be too low or too high, depending on their taste preference. With a soda stream, they can simply make their soda however they like, and for the fraction of the cost. 6. Gift Cards About as practical as real money, you can use gift cards for virtually anything. Pay for a night out with their friends, or their next grocery tab. Whatever kind of gift cards you buy they will be appreciative. 7. Roadside emergency kit It all happens to us, don't lie. We have all gone through the horrible state of having a flat or breakdown at the edge of the road. Sometimes we have no phone, or no knowledge on what to do. Help your kids through that predicament before it happens with a roadside emergency kit 8. High Speed Blender Another great practical gifts, smoothies are a craze as they help people receive fiber and nutrient all in a glass. A high-speed blender is perfect for pureeing harder fruits such as apples and pears 9. Cards against humanity This popular party game is great for college students due to its crude humor. Your child will have lots of fun making friends through this card game. 10. Plane Tickets They will get homesick and that's just something that can't be avoided. Try buying them a trip home for a week and let them just be thankful for the opportunity to return. 11. Noise Canceling Headphones Dorm rooms are distracting, television is distracting, everything that makes noise is distracting. Keep your kid focused and on task with a pair of noise canceling headphones 12. Go Pro Camera Is the college student in your life athletic, or film savvy? Do they like the idea of filming everywhere they go? Get them a GoPro! Hopefully this helps. Or at least you will be able to get some ideas for better options.