Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “negatively” come from?

Negatively comes from Middle English -ly, Old English -līċ, Latin negativus (derived from nego, meaning "to deny"), Latin -ivus, and Proto-Indo-European ne, meaning "not."

negatively (English): In a negative manner; so as to be damaging or not...

Definitions

  1. In a negative manner; so as to be damaging or not...

Ancestry of “negatively”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishnegativeNot positive nor neutral; Of electrical charge of...
2Middle Englishnegative—
3Old Frenchnegatif—
4Latinnegativusdenied, negative, that which denies; inhibiting
5Latinnegō—
6Latinnecnor; and not, not; neither
7Latinnequenot; and not, also not
8Proto-Indo-Europeannekʷeand not, neither, nor
9Proto-Indo-Europeannenot

Words derived from “negatively”

  • nonnegatively
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne →