deny

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*né“no, not”
2. Latin · derived fromdenegare“to deny, to refuse”
3. Old French · derived fromdenoier“to deny, to repudiate”
4. Middle English · inherited fromdenyen
5. English todaydeny

From Middle English denyen, from Old French denoier (“to deny, to repudiate”) (French dénier), from Latin denegare (“to deny, to refuse”), from de- (“away”) and negare (“to refuse”), the latter ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né (“no, not”). Doublet of denegate.

Words from the same roots