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Definition of Alpha privative
1. Noun. The negative prefix a- or un-.
Definition of Alpha privative
1. Noun. (grammar) The prefix a- (or an- when prefixing a root which begins with a vowel) found in some English words of Greek derivation. It expresses negation or absence. The prefix has cognates in other Indo-European languages, including in- in Latin and un- in English. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Alpha Privative
Literary usage of Alpha privative
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Or South-Indian Family of Languages by Robert Caldwell (1875)
"Has this a any connection with the alpha privative of the Indo-European tongues ?
I think not, though this would seem a more natural use of the alpha ..."
2. A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian Or South-Indian Family of Languages by Robert Caldwell (1875)
"Has this a any connection with the alpha privative of the Indo-European tongues!
I think not, though this would seem a more natural use of the alpha ..."
3. The Classical World by Classical Association of the Atlantic States (1908)
"Thus I excluded all alpha- privative compounds like ... It was pointed out, for
example, how alpha-privative compounds could be formed from nouns and ..."
4. The Baptist Review by J R Baumes (1881)
"... while alpha privative never has the rough breathing. 2. In the Attic dialect,
except when the word begins with a capital, ..."
5. The Irregular Verbs of Attic Prose: Their Forms, Prominent Meanings, and by Addison Hogue (1889)
"Adjectives beginning with alpha privative and ending in -os, have recessive accent.
See p. 91, REM. Furthermore, compound adjectives regularly have -os as ..."