alpha privative
nounEtymology Borrowed from Latin alpha prīvātīvum, from Ancient Greek ἄλφα στερητικόν (álpha sterētikón).
1
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The prefix a- (or an- when prefixing a root which begins with a vowel) found in some English words of Greek derivation. It expresses negation or absence. The prefix has cognates in other Indo-European languages, including in- in Latin and un- in English, all traceable back to Proto-Indo-European *n̥-.
2
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Either the aforementioned privative a or the Greek ἀ- (a-) itself (from which the English descendant derives).
3
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A word formed using such prefixes.
- Related terms
- deprivation, privation, privative adjective, ἀ-, a-