An alpha privative or, rarely,[1] privative a (from Latin alpha prīvātīvum, from Ancient Greek α στερητικόν) is the prefix a- or an- (before vowels) that is used in Indo-European languages such as Sanskrit and Greek and in words borrowed therefrom to express negation or absence, for example the English words atypical, anesthetic, and analgesic.
It is derived from a Proto-Indo-European syllabic nasal *n̥-, the zero ablaut grade of the negation *ne, i.e. /n/ used as a vowel. For this reason, it usually appears as an- before vowels (e.g. an-alphabetism, an-esthesia, an-archy).[2] It shares the same root with the Greek prefix nē- or ne-, in Greek νη- or νε-, that is also privative (e.g. ne-penthe).[3]
It is not to be confused with, among other things, an alpha copulative (e.g. a-delphi) or the prepositional component an- (i.e. the preposition ana with ecthlipsis or elision of its final vowel before a following vowel; e.g. an-ode).
Cognates
Sanskrit
The same prefix appears in Sanskrit, also as अ- a- before consonants; and अन- an- before vowels.
Latin
In Latin, the cognate prefix is in-. The prepositional prefix in- is unrelated.
Germanic languages
In English and other West Germanic languages, the cognate is un- (or on-).
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- (pronounced [u]), and Icelandic and Faroese use the related ó-.
Homonym
The prefix ἁ- ha- (also ἀ- a- from psilosis), copulative a, is nearly homonymous with privative a, but originates from Proto-Indo-European *sm̥.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Ngram Viewer
- ^ a b ἀ. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
- ^ νη. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project