Wiktionary says:

Abbreviation of wollnot or woll + not, negations of archaic form of will.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology agrees:

XVII. contr. of wonnot, assim. of wol not

As to other forms, Etymonline only mentions wynnot:

first recorded mid-15c. as wynnot, later wonnot (1580s) before the modern form [won't] emerged 1660s.

Answer from RegDwigнt on Stack Exchange

Wiktionary says:

Abbreviation of wollnot or woll + not, negations of archaic form of will.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology agrees:

XVII. contr. of wonnot, assim. of wol not

As to other forms, Etymonline only mentions wynnot:

first recorded mid-15c. as wynnot, later wonnot (1580s) before the modern form [won't] emerged 1660s.

Answer from RegDwigнt on Stack Exchange
Top answer
1 of 6
47

Wiktionary says:

Abbreviation of wollnot or woll + not, negations of archaic form of will.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology agrees:

XVII. contr. of wonnot, assim. of wol not

As to other forms, Etymonline only mentions wynnot:

first recorded mid-15c. as wynnot, later wonnot (1580s) before the modern form [won't] emerged 1660s.

2 of 6
42

Won’t actually has a pretty interesting and complex history. Ultimately it does come from a contraction of will and not, but it all happened in a rather roundabout way.

It all started off with the Old English verb willan/wyllan, meaning to will, wish, or want. Even in Old English it was used occasionally to denote a future intent. “Ic wille gan” could mean “I want to go” or “I will go”, depending on context.

Now, the thing about negatives in Old English is that they were often reduced:

na(w)ðer = nahwæðer = ne + hwæðer
neither = not + whether

næfre = ne + æfre
never = not + ever

nabbað = ne + habbað
haven’t = have + not

We nabbað naðor ne hlaf ne wæter.
We have neither bread nor water.

Not comes from naht via noht. Related to nawiht meaning naught, it originally meant in no way, but came to be used as an emphatic form of ne. Subsequently it became unstressed and supplanted ne altogether. This is an example of Jespersen’s Cycle.

All these things combined led to a new negative form of willan, wynnot. The past forms of willan began with wold-, which is where we get would. Under the influence of these forms and the related verb wol, wynnot became wonnot by the late 1500s.

Finally, the modern form won’t emerged by the 1660s as a result of reducing the final vowel in wonnot. It appears to be the first word so contracted; most of the other -n’t contractions we use today (can’t, couldn’t, shouldn’t, &c.) arose in the 1700s, modelled after won’t. In modern English, cannot is the only uncontracted -not compound that survives.

As for the other contractions such as -’ll and -’ve, their history is just as long, though perhaps slightly less convoluted. But that’s a story for a different question. ;)

Also, remember that spelling in Old English was less standardised than in modern English. There were often several equally valid ways to spell the same word, especially when you took different accents and dialects into account. So sometimes it’s difficult to get a good historical account of pronunciation and usage changes. Still, as far as I can tell, this is basically how it went down.

Source: The Online Etymology Dictionary.

🌐
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Contraction_(grammar)
Contraction (grammar) - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - Although can't, wouldn't and other forms ending ‑n't clearly started as contractions, ‑n't is now neither a contraction (a cliticized form) nor part of one but instead a negative inflectional suffix. Evidence for this is (i) ‑n't occurs only with auxiliary verbs, and clitics are not limited to particular categories or subcategories; (ii) again unlike contractions, their forms are not rule-governed but idiosyncratic (e.g., will → won't, can → can't); and (iii) as shown in the table, the inflected and "uncontracted" versions may require different positions in a sentence.
People also ask

What are contractions?
Contractions are two or more words that are combined and shortened to save time. Typically, you can identify a contraction by the apostrophe, as with isn’t or they’ve—but don’t confuse contractions with possessive nouns, which also use apostrophes.
🌐
grammarly.com
grammarly.com › blog › grammar › contractions
What Are Contractions in Writing? Definition and Examples | Grammarly
What are some examples of contractions?
Some of the most common contractions in English include can’t, it’s, they’ve, what’s, and would’ve.
🌐
grammarly.com
grammarly.com › blog › grammar › contractions
What Are Contractions in Writing? Definition and Examples | Grammarly
When should you use contractions?
Contractions are considered informal, so they should not be used in formal writing like academic papers.
🌐
grammarly.com
grammarly.com › blog › grammar › contractions
What Are Contractions in Writing? Definition and Examples | Grammarly
🌐
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › wouldn-t
WOULDN'T | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
WOULDN'T definition: 1. short form of would not: 2. short form of would not: 3. contraction of would not: . Learn more.
🌐
QuillBot
quillbot.com › home › is cannot a contraction?
Is cannot a contraction?
March 7, 2025 - Cannot is not a contraction. It is the full negative form of the modal verb “can” (e.g., “I cannot attend the meeting today”). It’s important to note that
🌐
Grammarly
grammarly.com › blog › grammar › contractions
What Are Contractions in Writing? Definition and Examples | Grammarly
August 10, 2022 - Contractions are a kind of abbreviation that combines two or more words by removing certain letters and usually adding an apostrophe. Only certain words can be contracted: typically small and common words (not, is/are), especially pronouns (I, he/she/it, they), and modal verbs (can, will, might, must, should, would, could).
🌐
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › grammar › british-grammar › contractions
Contractions - Grammar - Cambridge Dictionary
The following are the most common contractions. ... She is not is contracted to she isn’t or she’s not. I am not is only contracted to I’m not. Not: I’m n’t or I am n’t. They are not is contracted to they aren’t or they’re not. The isn’t / aren’t contractions are more common after nouns.
Find elsewhere
🌐
Grammarly
grammarly.com › blog › commonly-confused-words › wont-vs-wont
Wont vs won’t - Learn the Difference | Grammarly
May 22, 2019 - When we say won’t, we are actually saying will not. The form with the apostrophe is a contraction, like “don’t” and “can’t.” We owe the “o” in won’t to a sixteenth-century form of the word: wonnot.
🌐
Grammar.com
grammar.com › won’t_vs_wouldn’t
Won’t vs. Wouldn’t
Both the sentences convey the same, but wouldn’t is a more polite way of conveying the message when compared to won’t. So, through this article, we have learnt two important differences between won’t and wouldn’t: Won’t is the contraction for will not which is used for future tense.
🌐
GCFGlobal
edu.gcfglobal.org › en › grammar › contractions › 1
Grammar: Contractions
A contraction is a word made by shortening and combining two words. Words like can't (can + not), don't (do + not), and I've (I + have) are all contractions.
🌐
Reader's Digest
rd.com › knowledge › grammar & spelling
Why the Contraction for "Will Not" Isn’t “Willn’t”
June 12, 2025 - Adams agrees. “We’ve got evidence in the 16th century of will not becoming woll not with an o,” he says. “We even have examples from that period of a form that we would recognize today: wonnot, which shows how it’s going in the direction of a contracted form.
🌐
Scribbr
scribbr.com › home › contractions (grammar) | definition & examples
Contractions (Grammar) | Definition & Examples
May 2, 2025 - A negative contraction is a negative verb construction that ends in “-n’t” (e.g., “he would not join us” becomes “he wouldn’t join us”).
🌐
Southern Living
southernliving.com › news › why-is-will-not-conjunction-wont
The Reason The Contraction For Will Not Isn't "Willn't"
December 15, 2023 - Take the contraction for will not, for example. If it were normal (like could not and have not), it would be shortened to willn't instead of won't. You're not alone if you're wondering where the logic is in all that.
🌐
Langeek
langeek.co › home › grammar › punctuation and spelling › contractions
"Contractions" in English Grammar | LanGeek
3 weeks ago - These two modal verbs are 'will' and 'would'. Here are a few examples: ... We'd like to hear from you. In the table below, you can find the most common contractions of modal verbs. The following shows the negative contractions of modal verbs in the present tense. You might have noticed that won't and shan't do not follow the general rule for making contracted forms of negative verbs.
🌐
ProWritingAid
prowritingaid.com › wont-vs-won-t
Wont vs. Won’t: What’s the Difference?
May 8, 2022 - Won’t with an apostrophe is a contraction of the words “will not.” Wont without an apostrophe means “accustomed” or “a habit.”
🌐
QuillBot
quillbot.com › home › wont vs won’t | difference, definitions & use
Wont vs Won’t | Difference, Definitions & Use
September 2, 2024 - “Won’t” is the contraction of “will not,” while “wont” is an adjective meaning “in the habit of,” or a noun meaning “habit.”
🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/grammar › is "wouldn't've" a word?
r/grammar on Reddit: Is "wouldn't've" a word?
August 8, 2019 - regional thing, but "I'dn't've" would not be permitted in my local variety of English. N't acts as a suffix only on modals and some ... That makes complete sense. I just thought of it because I have heard I'dn't quite a bit after I moved here, and it's always stuck with me because it seemed off. Idk why I never looked into it though. Thank you! ... I raise you " Y'all'd'nt've ". Quadruple contraction of "You all would not have".