Etymologically
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positiv

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈpoːziˌtiːf/, /ˈpɔzɪˌtiːf/[1]

Forms

positiv (strong nominative masculine singular positiver, comparative positiver, superlative am positivsten)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin positīvus (“set, given”) (adverb positīvē), probably under the influence of French positif;[2][3] Kluge derives it directly from the French word, itself from Latin.[4] The Latin adjective is formed from pōnō (“to set, put, place”), past participle positus.[4][2][5] The same borrowing is Dutch positief, English positive, Swedish positiv and Icelandic pósitífur.[4] The Latin verb is also the source of Position and komponieren.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word appears first in the Latin adverbial form positive, “definitely, expressly”: a text of 1652 says that the envoy of the States refused to answer positivè.[6][7] The German adjective follows around 1700, first in mathematics in the sense “greater than zero”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Mostly as the opposite of negativ, the adjective developed a range of technical senses: in philosophy “actual, given” (18th century, positive Wissenschaft 1802, positives Recht “law laid down”, as against natural law), in physics of electric charge, and in medicine, from the 20th century, of a test result confirming what was suspected.[2][7] In general use it meant “definite, certain” and “affirmative”, then “favourable” and “good” (positive Leistungen, 1912).[7][3] DFWB notes that in the middle of the 19th century it became a fashionable catch-all word.[6]

The noun Positiv has three uses.[8][6] As a term of grammar for the uncompared form of the adjective it goes back to Late Latin gradus positivus, used in Latin form by Niclas von Wyle in 1478 and in German as Der Positif in 1749.[6][7] The neuter Positiv, a small organ, comes from Medieval Latin positivum (organum) and is found in glossaries of the 15th and 16th centuries and in texts until the late 18th.[6][9] The photographic Positiv dates from the end of the 19th century and was probably formed after Negativ.[2][7] Positivismus (about 1830) is from French positivisme, the philosophy of Auguste Comte.[7]

Timeline

  • 1478 – Niclas von Wyle uses the Latin grammatical term positivus.[6]
  • 1571 – Simon Roth's dictionary explains Positiff as a portable organ.[7][9]
  • 1652 – First record of the adverb positive.[6][7]
  • About 1700 – positiv as a term of mathematics, “greater than zero”.[2][7]
  • 1749 – Der Positif as a German grammatical term.[7]
  • 1802 – positive Wissenschaft is recorded.[7]
  • About 1830 – Positivismus is borrowed from French.[7]
  • Late 19th century – the photographic Positiv.[2][7]
  • 20th century – the medical sense “confirming a suspected condition”.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Expressing agreement or approval; affirmative: Auf unseren Vorschlag kam eine positive Antwort.[8]
  2. Favourable, advantageous: Der Umbau hatte positive Folgen für alle.[8]
  3. Good, rated highly: positive Charakterzüge.[8]
  4. (mathematics) Greater than zero: eine positive Zahl.[8][1]
  5. (physics) Having the charge opposite to that of the electron: der positive Pol.[8]
  6. (photography) Showing light and dark, or the colours, as in the original.[8]
  7. (medicine) Confirming that a suspected condition is present: Der Test fiel positiv aus.[8]
  8. (formal) Actually given, concrete: positives Recht, law laid down, as against natural law.[8]
  9. (colloquial) Certain, sure.[8]

Word family

  • Positiv
  • Positivismus
  • Positivist
  • Diapositiv

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
  3. ^ a b Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2014), 5th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin / Mannheim / Zürich: Dudenverlag, p. 649
  4. ^ a b c d Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 717
  5. ^ Wahrig-Burfeind, Renate, ed., Wahrig Herkunftswörterbuch, Gütersloh / München: Wissen Media Verlag; online edition at wissen.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Schulz, Hans; Basler, Otto, et al. (1913–1988), Deutsches Fremdwörterbuch, 7 vols., Strasbourg / Berlin: Trübner / De Gruyter; 2nd ed., ed. Gerhard Strauß et al. (1995–), Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; via OWID, Leibniz-Institut für Deutsche Sprache
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
  9. ^ a b Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 13, 2012