Not a single
Nary means not a single one—an emphatic way of saying none or no.
It appears almost exclusively in the phrase nary a: nary a word was spoken, nary a soul in sight.
The word is folksy and somewhat old-fashioned, lending a colorful or rustic tone to what could be said more plainly as "not one."
Almost not at all
infrequently · sporadically · occasionally · almost · virtually · negligible · minimal · slight
IDEA.org / Words / nary
Not a single
Nary means not a single one—an emphatic way of saying none or no.
It appears almost exclusively in the phrase nary a: nary a word was spoken, nary a soul in sight.
The word is folksy and somewhat old-fashioned, lending a colorful or rustic tone to what could be said more plainly as "not one."
1. scarcity — hardly, Almost not at all; barely (Only just, almost not); scarcely (Almost not); seldom (On few occasions); rarely · infrequently · sporadically · occasionally · almost · virtually · negligible · minimal · slight · faint
2. negation — not, Opposite of affirmative; none (Not a single one); nothing (Not any thing); neither (Not one or other); nor · without · lack · absence · zero · nil · void · empty · missing · devoid
QUANTITY/PRESENCEnary ≠ every All without exception; all · many · plenty · numerous · some
nary a (Not even one)
archaic words: thee, thou, thy, thine, tis; Old English: nu, her, eft, la, thy
binary, ternary
Word data: Linguabase (CC0) · www.idea.org/words/nary