Privative

Privative

A privative, named from Latin "" [" [http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe?privare privare] ", at William Whitaker's Words.] , "to deprive", is a particle that negates or inverts the value of the stem of the word. In Indo-European languages many privatives are prefixes; but they can also be suffixes, or more independent elements.

Privative prefixes

In English there are three primary privative prefixes, all cognate from PIE:

*' from West Germanic; e.g. "un"precedented, "un""'believable
*' from Latin; e.g. "in"capable, "in""'articulate".
*', called alpha privative, from Ancient Greek ', '; e.g. "a"pathetic, "a""'biogenesis.

These all stem from a PIE syllabic nasal privative *"n̥-", the zero ablaut grade of the negation *"ne", i.e. "n" used as a vowel, as in some English pronunciations of "button". This is the source of the 'n' in 'an-' privative prefixed nouns deriving from the Greek, which had both. For this reason, it appears as "an-" before vowel, e.g. "an"orexia, "an"esthesia.

The same prefix appears in Sanskrit, also as "a-", "an-". In North Germanic languages, the -"n"- has disappeared and Old Norse has "ú-" (e.g. ú-dáins-akr), Danish and Norwegian have "u-", whereas Swedish uses "o", and Icelandic uses the etymologically related "ó".

Privative suffixes

Some languages have privative suffixes; "-less" is an example in English, and "-t(a)lan" or "-t(e)len" is an example in Hungarian (a non-IE language).

References

ee also

*Privative a
*copulative a
*


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  • Privative — Priv a*tive, a. [L. privativus: cf. F. privatif. See {Private}.] 1. Causing privation; depriving. [1913 Webster] 2. Consisting in the absence of something; not positive; negative. [1913 Webster] Privative blessings, blessings of immunity,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Privative — Priv a*tive, n. [1913 Webster] 1. That of which the essence is the absence of something. [1913 Webster] Blackness and darkness are indeed but privatives. Bacon. [1913 Webster] 2. (Logic) A term indicating the absence of any quality which might be …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • privative — [priv′ə tiv] adj. [L privativus < pp. of privare: see PRIVATE] 1. depriving or tending to deprive 2. characterized by a taking away or loss of some quality 3. Gram. indicating negation, absence, or loss n. Gram. a privative term or affix, as A …   English World dictionary

  • privative — (adj.) 1580s, expressing negation (as the prefixes un , a , etc.), from L. privativus denoting privation, negative, from privatus, pp. of privare (see PRIVATE (Cf. private)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • privative — I. adjective Date: 14th century constituting or predicating privation or absence of a quality < non is a privative prefix > • privatively adverb II. noun Date: 1588 a privative term, expression, or proposition; also a privative prefix or suffix …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Privative a — The privative a (also known as privative alpha or α privativum ) is the prefix a which expresses negation or absence (e.g. a theism , ). Originally described for the grammar of Ancient Greek, it goes back to a Proto Indo European syllabic nasal * …   Wikipedia

  • privative — ● privatif, privative adjectif (bas latin privativus) Sur quoi une personne déterminée a un droit exclusif : Jardin privatif. Qui prive de quelque chose : Peine privative de liberté. Qui indique la privation, l absence (par exemple, le a de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • privative — /ˈprɪvətɪv / (say privuhtiv) adjective 1. having the quality of depriving. 2. consisting in or characterised by the taking away of something, or the loss or lack of something properly present. 3. Grammar indicating negation or absence. –noun 4.… …  

  • privative — privatively, adv. /priv euh tiv/, adj. 1. causing, or tending to cause, deprivation. 2. consisting in or characterized by the taking away, loss, or lack of something. 3. Gram. indicating negation or absence. n. 4. Gram. a privative element, as a… …   Universalium

  • privative a — noun An alpha privative …   Wiktionary

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