From Middle English can not, cannot, cannouȝt, etc. (compare Old English ne cann), equivalent to can + not.
Meanings
Can not; be unable to (whether due to physical inability, logical impossibility, etc.).
The butler cannot be the murderer, he cannot have killed her, because he was in another city at the time.
I cannot open the window. It is stuck.
Be forbidden or not permitted to.
You cannot enter the hall without a ticket.
The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation. 2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:
The Pupil after his Pupillarity, had granted a Diſcharge to one of the Co-tutors, which did extinguiſh the whole Debt of that Co-tutor, and conſequently of all the reſt, they being all correi debendi, lyable by one individual Obligation, which cannot be Diſcharged as to one, and ſtand as to all the reſt. 1668 December 19, James Dalrymple, “Mr. Alexander Seaton contra Menzies” in The Deciſions of the Lords of Council & Seſſion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 575
“If China seeks to disrupt the global order, then China cannot continue to be party to international organizations that seek to preserve that order,” Republican Representative Frank Lucas, the House bill’s sponsor, posted on X. 2026 February 11, Laura Davidson, quoting Frank Lucas, “US House Votes to Restrict China’s Global Ties If Taiwan Threatened”, in Bloomberg Times, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2026:
cy ffili (cannot — see also can, not) · pam e (cannot — see also can, not) · la prohibetur (cannot — see also can, not) · rop gan (cannot — see also can, not) · th ...ไม่ได้ (cannot — see also can, not) · tr -ama (cannot — see also can, not) · es no poder (cannot — see also can, not) · eo ne rajtas (cannot — see also can, not) · th ...ไม่เป็น (cannot — see also can, not) · ko 못하다 (cannot — see also can, not) · cmn 不能 (cannot — see also can, not) · eo ne povi (cannot — see also can, not) · otk 𐰆𐰢𐰀 (cannot — see also can, not) · ja ...してはならない (cannot — see also can, not) · lv nevar (cannot — see also can, not) · ja ...駄目である (cannot — see also can, not) · lv nespēj (cannot — see also can, not) · vi có thể không (cannot — see also can, not) · ja 食べられない (cannot — see also can, not) · ca no poder (cannot — see also can, not) · tr -eme (cannot — see also can, not) · nb kan ikke (cannot — see also can, not) · da kan ikke (cannot — see also can, not) · ru нельзя́ (cannot — see also can, not) · cmn e.g.: ...不了 (cannot — see also can, not) · fi ei voi (cannot — see also can, not) · pam ali (cannot — see also can, not) · nl niet kunnen (cannot — see also can, not) · la non licet (cannot — see also can, not) · ja ...できない (cannot — see also can, not) · la nequeo (cannot — see also can, not) · ru не мо́чь (cannot — see also can, not) · sv kan ej (cannot — see also can, not) · de nicht können (cannot — see also can, not) · pih kaa (cannot — see also can, not) · cy methu (cannot — see also can, not) · cy dim gallu (cannot — see also can, not) · sk nemôcť (cannot — see also can, not) · ar لَا يَسْتَطِيع (cannot — see also can, not) · pt não pode (cannot — see also can, not) · ko -을 수 없다 (cannot — see also can, not) · bg не може (cannot — see also can, not) · cmn 不行 (cannot — see also can, not) · sv kan icke (cannot — see also can, not) · ja e.g.: 読めない (cannot — see also can, not) · sv kan inte (cannot — see also can, not) · fi ei osaa (cannot — see also can, not) · pam masakit (cannot — see also can, not) · cs nemoct (cannot — see also can, not) · pl nie móc (cannot — see also can, not) · el δεν μπορώ (cannot — see also can, not) · ja 食べれない (cannot — see also can, not) · ko 못 (cannot — see also can, not) · cmn 不要 (cannot — see also can, not) · cmn 不會 /不会 (cannot — see also can, not) · la nescio (cannot — see also can, not) · it non potere (cannot — see also can, not) · ja ...してはいけない (cannot — see also can, not) · ar عَجَزَ (cannot — see also can, not) · fr ne pas pouvoir (cannot — see also can, not) · km មិនអាច (cannot — see also can, not) · sk nedokázať (cannot — see also can, not) · jam cyaan (cannot — see also can, not) · sk nebyť schopný (cannot — see also can, not) · la non posse (cannot — see also can, not)