Can't

[beenee]

I've never understood why 'cannot' is written as one word -they are two separate words aren't they?

[Quizmonster]

The earliest-recorded use of the form 'cannot' dates back to the year 1400, so it has a long and honourable history as a single word. We see the same sort of thing - in a way - in words such as 'don't'. The apostrophe stands for the missing second letter 'o', but the two words 'do' and 'not' are still combined.

[sft42]

As langauges evolve through everyday usage the population changes they way words are spoken and used in certain contexts...although people refer to dictionaries as the proper way to use words they are merely reflecting the current vogue for the words in usage.

As QM rightly points out can & not were originally used individually but came togethet to form the new word long ago due to the contraction of speech.

[Mortartube]

Surely you mean, they are two separate words "are not" they?

[beenee]

Thank you QM and Sft!

[Lisa-Marie]

If they are two seperate words, why did you spell it together?