# now

> English word · Adjective · IPA /naʊ/ · frequency rank #72

## Definitions
1. Present; current.
2. Fashionable; popular; up to date; current.

## Etymology
From Middle English now, nou, nu, from Old English nū, from Proto-West Germanic *nū, from Proto-Germanic *nu, from Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”). Doublet of nu ("well?").
Cognates
Cognate with Scots noo, nou, now (“now”), Yola neow, now, nowe (“now”), North Frisian nü (“now”), Saterland Frisian nu (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Limburgish noe, Nuu (“now”), Danish, Swedish nu (“now”), Elfdalian nų (“now”), Faroese nú, núgv (“now”), Icelandic nú, núna (“now”), Norwegian Bokmål nu, nå (“now”), Norwegian Nynorsk no, nu, nå (“now”), Gothic 𐌽𐌿 (nu, “now”), Latin num (“even now, whether”), Latin nunc (“now”), Albanian ni (“now”), Lithuanian nù (“now”), Avestan 𐬥𐬏 (nū, “now”), Sanskrit नु (nu, “now”).

## Easily confused with
- **NZ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nz)
- **NT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nt)
- **NP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-np)
- **nu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nu)
- **nr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nr)
- **NYC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nyc)
- **nut** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nut)
- **NSA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nsa)
- **NSW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nsw)
- **nun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nun)
- **NPR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-npr)
- **NRA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nra)
- **nye** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nye)
- **NYT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nyt)
- **NYU** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nyu)
- **NPC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-npc)
- **NRC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nrc)
- **NSF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nsf)
- **NSC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nsc)
- **nth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/now-vs-nth)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/now