Where does “electronegative” come from?
Electronegative comes from English electric plus English negative, which derives from Latin negativus, from Latin nego meaning to deny, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne meaning not.
electronegative (English): having a negative electric charge; tending to...
Definitions
- having a negative electric charge; tending to...
Ancestry of “electronegative”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | negative | Not positive nor neutral; Of electrical charge of... |
| 2 | Middle English | negative | — |
| 3 | Old French | negatif | — |
| 4 | Latin | negativus | denied, negative, that which denies; inhibiting |
| 5 | Latin | negō | to deny |
| 6 | Latin | nec | nor; and not, not; neither |
| 7 | Latin | neque | not; and not, also not |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | nekʷe | and not, neither, nor |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |