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NAUGHT.—‘Naught’ is ‘nothing’ (from A.S. na ‘not,’ and wiht ‘a whit or a thing’). Sometimes the spelling became ‘nought’ (perhaps under the influence of ‘ought’). In the earliest editions of AV [Note: Authorized Version.] there is no difference between ‘naught’ and ‘nought’; but in the ed. of 1638 a difference was introduced, ‘naught’ being used in 2Ki_2:19, Pro_20:14, because there the meaning is ‘bad’; ‘nought’ everywhere else, but with the meaning ‘worthlessness.’ This distinction was preserved by Scrivener, in his Cambr. Par. Bible, and is found in most modern English Bibles.
‘Naughty,’ however, is simply ‘worthless,’ as Jer_24:2 ‘very naughty figs.’ But ‘naughtiness’ always means ‘wickedness,’ as Pro_11:6 ‘transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.’