have-not

have-not
have-not "poor person," 1742, from HAVE (Cf. have) + NOT (Cf. not). Have in the sense of "one who 'has,' one of the wealthier class of persons" is from the same source. Earliest in translation of "Don Quixote:
'A fig for Basilius's abilities! for, you are worth just as much as you have, and you have just as much as you are worth. There are but two families in the world, as my grandmother used to say; "the Have's and the Have-not's," and she stuck to the former; and now-a-days, master Don Quixote, people are more inclined to feel the pulse of Have than of Know.' ["Don Quixote de la Mancha," transl. Charles Jarvis, London, 1742]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • have-not — [hav′nät΄] n. a person or nation with little wealth or poor resources …   English World dictionary

  • have-not — noun a person with few or no possessions • Syn: ↑poor person • Hypernyms: ↑unfortunate, ↑unfortunate person • Hyponyms: ↑white trash, ↑poor white trash, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • have not seen hide nor hair of someone — phrase to have definitely not seen someone I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him for a week. Thesaurus: to be or to not be in contact with someonesynonym Main entry: hide …   Useful english dictionary

  • have not heard the last of — phrase used for saying that you think someone or something will continue to succeed or be famous, even though they have failed once Thesaurus: successfulsynonym Main entry: hear …   Useful english dictionary

  • have not the slightest idea — v. have not got a clue, do not know at all …   English contemporary dictionary

  • have not a - bone in one's body — (of a person) have not the slightest trace of the specified quality there s not a conservative bone in his body …   Useful english dictionary

  • have-not — /hav not , not /, n. Usually, have nots. an individual or group that is without wealth, social position, or other material benefits (contrasted with have). [1830 40] * * * …   Universalium

  • have-not — /ˈhæv nɒt/ (say hav not) noun one of the poor. {from the phrase the haves and the have nots} …  

  • have-not — noun singular variant of have nots …   Wiktionary

  • have not — noun singular variant of have nots …   Wiktionary

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