Etymograph

English

negatory

Negatory comes from Medieval Latin negātōrius ‘negative, negatory’, from Latin negātor ‘denier’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *né ‘not’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*né1‘not’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₁1‘prohibitive particle: "don't ...!"’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₁1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nē1‘not’reconstructed
  5. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEnei1
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEne2‘not’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegō3‘deny, refuse’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegātor3‘denier’
  9. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500negātōrius4‘negative, negatory’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1768negatory4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin ne
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin nego
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin negatorius
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English negatory
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1768, Lord Chief Baron Parker, A Report of the Proceedings: “No negative Words are necessary here, because the qualifying…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néWiktionary, Latin ne‘not’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*méh₁Wiktionary, Latin ne‘prohibitive particle: "don't ...!"’uncertain
  3. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*néh₁Wiktionary, Latin nereconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*nēWiktionary, Latin ne‘not’reconstructed
  5. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEneiWiktionary, Latin ne
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEneWiktionary, Latin nego‘not’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegōWiktionary, Latin negatorius‘deny, refuse’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnegātorWiktionary, Latin negatorius‘denier’
  9. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500negātōriusWiktionary, English negatory‘negative, negatory’
  10. Englishearliest quotation 1768negatoryWiktionary, English negatory. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1768, Lord Chief Baron Parker, A Report of the Proceedings: “No negative Words are necessary here, because the qualifying…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *né ‘not’

no, na, ne, negotiate, negotiator, 15 more

through Archaic Latin nei

necessity, 5 more

through Latin negō ‘deny, refuse’

renegade, renege, 7 more

Today it means

adj Negative; negating.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “negatory”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin ne, Latin nego, Latin negatorius. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *né / negatory

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