What is "privative"

Privative \Priv"a*tive\, a. [L. privativus: cf. F. privatif. See Private.]

1. Causing privation; depriving.

2. Consisting in the absence of something; not positive; negative.

   Privative blessings, blessings of immunity, safeguard, liberty, and integrity.
   --Jer. Taylor.

3. (Gram.) Implying privation or negation; giving a negative force to a word; as, alpha privative; privative particles; -- applied to such prefixes and suffixes as a- (Gr. ?), un-, non-, -less.

Privative \Priv"a*tive\, n.

1. That of which the essence is the absence of something.

   Blackness and darkness are indeed but privatives.
   --Bacon.

2. (Logic) A term indicating the absence of any quality which might be naturally or rationally expected; -- called also privative term.

3. (Gram.) A privative prefix or suffix. See Privative, a., 3.

1580s, "expressing negation" (as do the prefixes un-, a- (2), etc.), from Latin privativus "denoting privation, negative," from privatus, past participle of privare (see private).

a. 1 Causing privation; depriving. 2 Consisting in the absence of something; negative. 3 (context grammar English) Indicating the absence of something. n. Something that causes privation or indicates an absence.

A privative, named from Latin privare, "to deprive", is a particle that negates or inverts the value of the stem of the word. In Indo-European languages many privatives are prefixes; but they can also be suffixes, or more independent elements.