Green’s Dictionary of Slang

nope! excl.

(US) no!

1888		Chicago Trib. n.p.: ‘I suppose you will be a literary man [...] when you grow up.’ ‘Nope,’ said the little boy [...], ‘literary nuthin’!’ [DA].
1891		St Paul Dly Globe (MN) 26 Nov. 10/7: ‘Why, father have you always said nope?’ inquired the young l;ady [...] he gently and peacefully answered ‘Yep’.
1898		L.J. Beck N.Y.’s Chinatown 160: ‘Lottie down here to-night?’ ‘Nope,’ responds Pete.
1901		Boy’s Own Paper 5 Jan. 210: ‘He didn’t?’ ‘Nop.’.
1905		H. Green Actors’ Boarding House (1906) 135: Nope, them guys shan’t eat you, buckie.
1915		Wodehouse Psmith Journalist (1993) 172: Nope. Nothin’ doin’.
1922		S. Lewis Babbitt (1974) 90: Nup. Twelve. This is the real stuff.
1928		R. Fisher Walls Of Jericho 167: ‘Is this visitor a gen’leman friend?’ ‘Nope.’.
1934		(con. 1920s) J.T. Farrell Young Manhood in Studs Lonigan (1936) 153: ‘You sound like you lost your job, Lee.’ [...] ‘Nope! I got a one way ticket to Berlin.’ [Ibid.] 330: ‘Come on, one drink won’t make any difference.’ ‘Nope, not tonight, Red.’.
1940		F.S. Fitzgerald ‘Pat Hobby’s Christmas Wish’ in Pat Hobby Stories (1967) 34: Nope [...] I won’t make you a producer.
1951		M. Spillane One Lonely Night 34: ‘Are you from . . . New York?’ ‘Nope. Philly.’.
1967		L. Bruce Essential Lenny Bruce 239: ‘Can I touch them?’ ‘No. No. Nope.’.
1976		P. Theroux Family Arsenal 30: Nope, I got fired.
1983		Totally True Diaries of an Eighties Roller Queen 🌐 30 Aug. Shauna kept saying, ‘Please don’t call our parents.’ The man kept saying, ‘Nope. Too easy. Too easy.’.
1999		Indep. Rev. 3 June 2: Nope, sorry, nothing there, I don’t get it.
2000		C. Cook Robbers (2001) 35: You find anything? Nope.
2007		T. Dorsey Hurricane Punch 5: Nope. Nothing would make me happier.
2012		L. Berney Whiplash River [ebook] ‘This Egypt thing.’ ‘Nope,’ she said.
2013		T. Robinson Hard Bounce [ebook] ‘You don’t happen to know this kid, do you?’ He [...] stared blankly at the picture [...] ‘Nope’.