Etymologically
Log in

positive

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:53. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Forms

positīvē adverb[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin positīvus (“positive”) + -ē, an adverb formed from the adjective.[1][2][3] The adjective comes from positus, the past participle of pōnō (“to put, place”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The grammarian Priscian is the first to use it, meaning “in the positive degree”, of adjectives and adverbs.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

The DMLBS records a Late Latin sense “by convention”.[6] Medieval writers used it for “explicitly, definitely”, as Peter of Blois did about 1195.[6] In scholastic Latin it means “as something posited”, in the manner of something real, as opposed to negative and privative;[7] Thomas Aquinas asks whether a stain of sin is something positive.[7] Polish philosophical texts of the 14th and 15th centuries use it for “affirmatively, in a determinate way”.[8]

Timeline

  • 6th century AD – Priscian uses it for the positive degree.[2][3]
  • c. 1195 – Peter of Blois uses it for “explicitly”.[6]
  • 14th century – Polish philosophical texts use it for “affirmatively”.[8]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (grammar) In the positive degree.[2][5][1]
  2. (Late Latin) By convention, conventionally.[6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Explicitly, definitely, positively.[6][8]
  4. (philosophy) As something posited or real; affirmatively, as opposed to negatively or privatively.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  2. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
  8. ^ a b c d Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl