The negatives haud (in Latin) and ou (in Greek) are particularly puzzling to linguists of Indo-European language due to the fact that neither word seems to bear any resemblance to the no/ non forms found elsewhere. In this essay Lionel Horton-Smith presents a suggestion accounting for these words, using epigraphy and literature to bolster his views. He connects the two via a proposed root-word meaning 'To fail, be deficient, be wanting,' then provides extensions of this concept to give weight to his suggestion. An interesting paper, this piece gives depth to one's understanding of both Latin and Greek.