English → Latin
“negative” in Latin
negōto deny; to refuse, say no; to reject, refuse, say no to (something), turn downprīvōto bereave, deprive, rob or strip of something; to free, set apart, release, deliver from something, relieve ofīnfitiātiōdenial, disowningrecūsātiōrefusal, declining; objection, protest; plea in defence, counter pleaīnfitiorto deny, contradict, disownrecūsōto refuse, decline, reject; to protest, object
The English word negative itself goes back to Latin nec, through negātīvus.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
negative adj.
negans: privans (depriving, privative; of parts of speech. ☞ negativus, privativus only in the later grammarians). A negative, vocabulum negans: a negative particle, particula negans: a negative answer (to a question), infitiatio; (to a request) recusatio: to give a negative answer (to a question), infitiari; regare ita esse; (to a request) recusare: to have received a negative answer (to a request), repulsam ferre (Cic.); also with negare; e.g., he gave me a negative answer, negavit se hoc facturum (after Cic.): to meet a charge with a negative, causam infitiatione defendere (Cic.): a negative proposition, enunciatum (sententia or enunciatio) negans.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for negative?
- The usual Latin words for “negative” are negō, prīvō, īnfitiātiō; also recūsātiō, īnfitior, recūsō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.