Where does “nega-” come from?
nega- (English) comes from Esperanto neĝo, from French neige, from French neiger, from Old French negier, from Vulgar Latin nivicare, from Latin nix, from Latin -eus, from Ancient Greek -εῖος — Creates adjectives from verb stems.
nega- (English): antithesis; polar opposite
Definitions
- antithesis; polar opposite
Ancestry of “nega-”, step by step
nega- traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Esperanto neĝo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esperanto | neĝo | snow |
| 2 | French | neige | snow, crystalline frozen precipitation; cocaine,... |
| 3 | French | neiger | to snow |
| 4 | Old French | negier | to snow |
| 5 | Vulgar Latin | nivicare | present active infinitive of *nivicō |
| 6 | Latin | nix | snow; white hair |
| 7 | Latin | -eus | argentum + API → argenteus; ferrum + API →... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | -εῖος | Forms adjectives, usually with a meaning of "of"... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHwós | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -wós | Creates adjectives from verb stems |
via English negative
| 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 |