English
negate
Negate comes from Latin negātus ‘refused, declined, having been said no to’, from ne ‘not’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *néh₁.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₁reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nē‘not’reconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEnei
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEne‘not’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegō‘to deny, refuse, decline’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegātus‘refused, declined, having been said no to’perfect passive participle of negō
- Englishearliest quotation 2025negate
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₁reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nē‘not’reconstructed
- Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEnei
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEne‘not’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegō‘to deny, refuse, decline’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegātus‘refused, declined, having been said no to’perfect passive participle of negō
- Englishearliest quotation 2025negate
Earliest quotation: 2025, Network News: Public trials of Coventry's Very Light Rail sy: “The 'slab track' system negates the need to divert…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ- ‘to say’
deny, adage, prodigious, 3 more
through Proto-Indo-European *né ‘not’
no, na, ne, negotiate, negotiator, 15 more
through Archaic Latin nei
through Latin negō ‘to deny, refuse, decline’
Today it means
verb To deny the existence, evidence, or truth of; to contradict.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *néh₁ / negate