Sp. 'nada' & 'nadie' (nothing, nobody), are from L. for 'born' (cf Eng. 'natal'). 'Non res nata' & 'non homines nati' (no thing/person created) became set phrases to the point that the negatives were dropped but the adjectives retained the negative sense.
Huh. Spanish also has ningún, and (I think?) uses it sometimes in place of nadie.
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Ah, even more wrinkles! Ningún/ ningunx is indeed synonymous with nadie (at least in certain constructions, it seems), but despite appearances ningún and ninguém aren't cognates: Pt. equiv is nenhum: nec unum (not even one) vs nec quem (none whom).
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Get straight out.
End of conversation
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