Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “positive” come from?

Positive comes from Old French positif, derived from Latin positivus, formed with the Latin suffix -ivus from Proto-Indo-European -iHwós, ultimately descended from Proto-Indo-European -wós.

positive (English): Not negative or neutral; Formally laid down;...

Definitions

  1. Not negative or neutral; Formally laid down;...

Ancestry of “positive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchpositif—
2Latinposītivus—
3Latinpōnō—
4Proto-Italicpoznō—
5Proto-Italicpozinō—
6Proto-Italicsinō—

Words derived from “positive”

  • positively
  • positivist
  • positron
  • positivity
  • positivistic
  • positiveness
  • seropositive
  • postpositivist
  • contrapositive
  • electropositive
  • seropositivity
  • nonpositive
  • immunopositive
  • positronic
  • antipositivist
  • postpositive
  • positivistically
  • neopositivist
  • immunopositivity
  • nonpositivist
  • diapositive
  • postpositivistic
  • copositive
  • semipositive
Every word from Proto-Italic sinō →