Alpha privative
An alpha privative or, rarely,[1] privative a (from Latin alpha prīvātīvum, from Ancient Greek
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
It is not to be confused with, among other things, an alpha copulative (e.g. a-delphós) or the prefix an- (i.e. the preposition aná with ecthlipsis or elision of its final vowel before a following vowel; e.g. an-ode).
Cognates
[edit]Sanskrit
[edit]The same prefix appears in Sanskrit, also as अ- a- before consonants; and अन्- an- before vowels.
Latin
[edit]In Latin, the cognate prefix is in-, which leaves its traces in English words like invisible and inaccessible. The prepositional prefix in- is unrelated.
Germanic languages
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
References
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