Where does “negative” come from?

negative (Middle English) comes from Old French negatif, from Latin negativus, from Latin negō, from Latin nec, from Latin neque, from Proto-Indo-European nekʷe, from Proto-Indo-European ne — not.

Ancestry of “negative”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchnegatif
2Latinnegativusdenied, negative, that which denies; inhibiting
3Latinnegōto deny
4Latinnecnor; and not, not; neither
5Latinnequenot; and not, also not
6Proto-Indo-Europeannekʷeand not, neither, nor
7Proto-Indo-Europeannenot

Words derived from “negative

Every word from Proto-Indo-European ne
negative — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer