Nonbeing

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. the philosophical or metaphysical condition of absolute non-existence, absence, or negation of being itself
2. the state of lacking any form of presence, reality, or substantive existence in either material or conceptual terms
3. The total lack of any form of existence or reality, representing the void of all being

Etymology: "Nonbeing" is a plain compound, built from the prefix "non-" and the noun "being." The Middle English form was "nounbeyng" or "noon being," a combination of "noon," meaning "none," with "being," so the term began as a fairly literal phrase: not-being, or the absence of anything that exists. The older pieces carry the weight here. "Being" comes from the verb "be," and the Middle English "noon" is the same word that gives us "none," so the compound essentially says "no being." Writers in English gradually fused the phrase into a single word, which is why the spelling settled into the one-word "nonbeing" we see today. The concept has a long philosophical life, since philosophers have often used the word to discuss what it means for something to not exist, but the word itself remains a transparent, straightforward construction.

Synonyms: nothingness, absence, void

Antonyms: existence, being