shan't

See also: sha'n't

English

shall +‎ -n't; contraction of shalln't or shall not.

shan't

(Britain, archaic in US) Contraction of shall not (negative auxiliary[1]).
Shall we go to see a film this afternoon? No, we shan't.
- 1922, Rex [Ellingwood] Beach, “chapter XXIV”, in Flowing Gold, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, by arrangement with Harper & Brothers, OCLC 5140023, page 290:
  That's not a threat, sir, for they have played fair with me, and I sha'n't sacrifice a penny of their money—unless they force me to do so. But—I'm in control. I'm sitting pretty. They can't unseat me, and I warn them not to try.

Used in colloquial British English, Australian English and New Zealand English, in North America, rarely used, and may not be understood. In North America, like shall, it may also be considered formal or pompous, or used in a parody of British English speakers.

Arnold M. Zwicky and Geoffrey K. Pullum, Cliticization vs. Inflection: English n’t, Language 59 (3), 1983, pp. 502-513

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