Where does “negative” come from?
Negative comes from Middle English negative, from Old French negatif, from Latin negativus, formed with the suffix -ivus from nego meaning "to deny," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne and nekʷe meaning "not."
negative (English): Not positive nor neutral; Of electrical charge of...
Definitions
- Not positive nor neutral; Of electrical charge of...
Ancestry of “negative”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | negative | — |
| 2 | Old French | negatif | — |
| 3 | Latin | negativus | denied, negative, that which denies; inhibiting |
| 4 | Latin | negō | — |
| 5 | Latin | nec | nor; and not, not; neither |
| 6 | Latin | neque | not; and not, also not |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | nekʷe | and not, neither, nor |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |
Words derived from “negative”