nor

¹

[nawr, ner]

conjunction

1. (used in negative phrases, especially after neither, to introduce the second member in a series, or any subsequent member).

   Neither he nor I will be there. They won't wait for you, nor for me, nor for anybody.

2. (used to continue the force of a negative, as not, no, never, etc., occurring in a preceding clause).

   He left and I never saw him again, nor did I regret it.

3. (used after an affirmative clause, or as a continuative, in the sense ofand not ).

   They are happy, nor need we worry.

4. Older Use.,  than.

5. Archaic.,  (used without a preceding neither, the negative force of which is understood).

   He nor I was there.

6. Archaic.,  (used instead of neither as correlative to a followingnor ).

   Nor he nor I was there.

NOR

²

[nawr]

noun

1. a Boolean operator that returns a positive result when both operands are negative.

nor-

³

1. a combining form used in the names of chemical compounds which are the normal or parent forms of the compound denoted by the base words.

   l-norepinephrine.

nor.

⁴

abbreviation

1. north.

2. northern.

Nor.

⁵

abbreviation

1. Norman.

2. North.

3. Northern.

4. Norway.

5. Norwegian.

nor

¹

/ nə, nɔː /

conjunction

1. (used to join alternatives) and not

   neither measles nor mumps

2. (and) not … either

   they weren't talented — nor were they particularly funny

3. dialect,  than

   better nor me

4. poetic,  neither

   nor wind nor rain

nor-

²

combining form

1. indicating that a chemical compound is derived from a specified compound by removal of a group or groups

   noradrenaline

2. indicating that a chemical compound is a normal isomer of a specified compound

Grammar Note

See neither.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nor¹

1300–50; Middle English, contraction of nother, Old English nōther, equivalent to ne not + ōther (contraction of ōhwæther ) either; or ¹

Origin of nor²

1955–60

Origin of nor³

Short for normal

Word History and Origins

Origin of nor¹

C13: contraction of Old English nōther, from nāhwæther _neither

Origin of nor²

by shortening from _normal

Idioms and Phrases

see hide nor hair; neither fish nor fowl; neither here nor there; rhyme or reason (neither rhyme nor reason).