none the less

The root of "none the less" or "never the less" might be "no less" or "no less than", with "none" being tangible and "never" being temporal. It seems to be a comparative phrase. It is usually used in the second half of a sentence after a comma (like the word "but" or "even though"). "None the less" is probably often mis-used: "He's having a hard time learning english, none the less he is very smart." sounds better as . . . "He's having a hard time learning english, but he is very smart none the less." and the possible root term . . . "He's having a hard time learning english, but he is no less smart for it."