English
negative
Negative comes from Latin negātīvus ‘that denies, negative’, from negō ‘to deny’, and ultimately from ne ‘not’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEne‘not’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegōas negāre‘to deny’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegātīvus‘that denies’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400negatif
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500negative
- Englishearliest quotation 1749same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEne‘not’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegōas negāre‘to deny’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegātīvus‘that denies’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400negatif
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500negative
- Englishearliest quotation 1749same form
Earliest quotation: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: “Upon my word, I can’t eat a morsel,” answered…”
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’
Today it means
adj Not positive or neutral; bad; undesirable; unfavourable.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin ne / negative