Naughty
/ˈnɔːti/noun
Badly behaved or disobedient; sometimes suggestively risqué.
Did you know?In earlier English, a naughty person could be described as “naught,” meaning poor, worthless, or morally lacking, and the word’s modern playful edge is a much softer afterlife of that harsher judgment.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
nahtaz
“night; darkness”
Old English
OE
nāwiht / nāht
“nothing, not a thing”
Middle English
ME
nauȝti / noughty
“worthless, bad, morally poor”
16th Century
English
naughty
“bad, wicked, disobedient”
Modern English
English
naughty
“playfully disobedient or mildly indecent”