Privative a

In Ancient Greek grammar, privative a (also known as privative alpha; in Latin, α prīvātīvum, in Greek, α στερητικόν) is the prefix a- that expresses negation or absence (e.g. a-theos, a-typical). 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).^[1] 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).^[2]

Cognates

Sanskrit

The same prefix appears in Sanskrit, also as a-, an-

Latin

In Latin, the cognate prefix is in-. The prepositional prefix in- is different.

Germanic languages

In English and other West Germanic languages, the cognate is un-, except in Dutch, where it is 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.^[1]

See also

• copulative a
• privative

References

1. ἀ. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
2. νη. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project