nequam

== Latin == === Etymology === According to De Vaan, from nē (“not”) +‎ quam (“how”). Traditionally derived from, and perhaps historically influenced by nē (“not”) +‎ aequam (“equal”, f. acc. sing. aequus). Cognate with Russian ничто́жный (ničtóžnyj, “trifling, insignificant, contemptible, worthless, paltry, despicable, mean”), Russian никчёмный (nikčómnyj, “worthless, useless, good for nothing”), Russian никуды́шный (nikudýšnyj, “bad, useless, in no respect good”), all ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né (“not”) + Proto-Indo-European *kʷ-, with close meanings. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈneː.kʷãː] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈnɛː.kʷam] === Adjective === nēquam (indeclinable, comparative nēquior, superlative nēquissimus) worthless, good-for-nothing wretched, vile ==== Derived terms ==== nēquitia/nēquitiēs ==== Descendants ==== === References === “nequam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “nequam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “nequam”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette. Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.