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negativity

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Etymology and origin of the English word negativity

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1826 Coleridge's notebooks
Ultimate origin
Latin negō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nego
Latin negativus
Italian negativo
English negative
English negativity
From the same root
Latin abnego ← nego
Latin negator ← nego
Latin negito ← nego
Latin pernego ← nego

Pronunciation

  • /ˌnɛɡ.əˈtɪ.vɪ.ti/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English negative + -ity.[2][3][4] The OED compares French négativité, recorded in 1838, and German Negativität, recorded in 1843.[2] Negative came into Middle English from Anglo-Norman negatif and Latin negātīvus, from negō (“to deny, say no”).[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fact or quality of being negative: 1826, in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's notebooks.[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1842,[4] the OED's first edition to 1854,[5] and the Shorter Oxford to the mid 19th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word first appears in philosophical writing: the OED's 1854 quotation translates a German passage of 1843 with Negativität,[2] and the Shorter Oxford quotes John Caird on "universal negativity or nothingness" of finite things.[3] It now commonly refers to a pessimistic or unconstructive attitude, or to negative feelings in general,[3][1] and Merriam-Webster gives it as a synonym of negativism.[6][2] Barry Popik records a family of humorous sayings built on it, such as "Surround yourself with tacos, not negativity", posted online from 2015.[7]

Timeline

  • 1826 – the quality of being negative, in Coleridge's notebooks.[2]
  • 1842 – the quality of being negative in any sense.[4]
  • 1854 – the first quotation in the OED's first edition.[5][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The quality or state of being negative; negativism.[6][2][3]
  2. A pessimistic or unconstructive attitude, or negative feeling in general: The coach was tired of all the negativity in the locker room.[1][3]
  3. In physics, the quality of having a negative electric charge.[1]

Word family

  • nonnegativity

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Popik, Barry, The Big Apple, barrypopik.com, p. "Surround yourself with tacos, not negativity", 16 May 2018
Cite this entry

“Negativity.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/negativity. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·