English
negative
Negative comes from Latin negātīvus ‘that denies, negative’, from negō ‘to deny’, and ultimately from ne ‘not’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEne1‘not’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegō2as negāre‘to deny’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegātīvus2‘that denies’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400negatif2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500negative2
- Englishearliest quotation 1749negative2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin nego
- 2 Wiktionary, English negative
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: ““Upon my word, I can’t eat a morsel,” answered…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneWiktionary, Latin nego‘not’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegōWiktionary, English negativeas negāre‘to deny’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegātīvusWiktionary, English negative‘that denies’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400negatifWiktionary, English negative
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500negativeWiktionary, English negative
- Englishearliest quotation 1749negativeWiktionary, English negative. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 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.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “negative”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin nego. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin ne / negative