Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “seronegative” come from?

Seronegative comes from English sero- combined with negative, which derives from Middle English negative, Old French negatif, Latin negativus formed with the suffix -ivus from nego meaning "to deny," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ne meaning "not."

seronegative (English): Testing negative for a given pathogen,...

Definitions

  1. Testing negative for a given pathogen,...

Ancestry of “seronegative”, 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 “seronegative”

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