Editing Alpha privative

{{Short description|Prefix expressing negation or absence}}
An '''alpha [[privative]]''' or, rarely,<ref>[https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=alpha+privative%2Cprivative+a%2C+privative+alpha&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Calpha%20privative%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cprivative%20a%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cprivative%20alpha%3B%2Cc0 Ngram Viewer]</ref> '''privative a''' (from [[Latin]] ''{{lang|la|alpha prīvātīvum}}'', from [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|α στερητικόν}}) is the [[prefix]] ''a-'' or ''an-'' (before vowels) that is used in [[Indo-European languages]] such as [[Sanskrit]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] and in words borrowed therefrom to express negation or absence, for example the English words of Greek origin ''[[wiktionary:atypical|atypical]]'', ''[[wiktionary:anesthetic|anesthetic]]'', and ''[[wiktionary:analgesic|analgesic]]'', as well as the English word of Sanskrit origin [[Ahimsa|''ahimsa'']] (''ahinsa''). 

It is derived from a [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] syllabic nasal *''{{PIE|n̥-}}'', the zero [[Indo-European ablaut|ablaut]] grade of the negation *''{{PIE|ne}}'', i.e. /n/ used as a vowel. For this reason, it usually appears as ''{{lang|grc-Latn|an-}}'' before vowels (e.g. ''[[illiteracy|an-alphabetism]]'', ''[[anesthesia|an-esthesia]]'', ''[[anarchy (word)|an-archy]]'').<ref name="LSJ">{{LSJ|a)1|ἀ|ref}}</ref> It shares the same root with the Greek prefix ''{{lang|grc-Latn|nē-}}'' or ''{{lang|grc-Latn|ne-}}'', in Greek {{lang|grc|νη-}} or {{lang|grc|νε-}}, that is also privative (e.g. ''{{lang|grc-Latn|[[nepenthe|ne-penthe]]}}'').<ref name="LSJ1">{{LSJ|nh1|νη|ref}}</ref>

It is not to be confused with, among other things, an [[copulative a|alpha copulative]] (e.g. ''[[wiktionary:ἀδελφός#Ancient Greek|a-delphós]]'') or the prefix ''{{lang|grc-Latn|an-}}'' (i.e. the preposition ''{{lang|grc-Latn|aná}}'' with [[wiktionary:ecthlipsis|ecthlipsis]] or [[elision]] of its final vowel before a following vowel; e.g. ''{{lang|grc-Latn|[[anode|an-ode]]}}'').

==Cognates==

===Sanskrit===
The same prefix appears in [[Sanskrit]], also as  '''{{lang|sa-Latn|a-}}''' before consonants; and  '''{{lang|sa-Latn|an-}}''' before vowels (written अ and अन्, respectively in [[Devanagari]]).

===Latin===
In [[Latin]], the [[cognate]] prefix is ''{{lang|la|in-}}'', which leaves its traces in English words like ''[[wiktionary:invisible|invisible]]'' and ''[[wiktionary:inaccessible|inaccessible]]'', and in its [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilated]] form in words like ''irresistible'', ''irrelevant'', ''irresponsible'', ''illegitimate'', ''illegal,'' ''illiterate''. The [[preposition]]al prefix ''{{lang|la|in-}}'' is unrelated.

===Germanic languages===
In English and other [[West Germanic languages]], the cognate is ''un-'' (or ''on-'').

In [[North Germanic languages]], the -''n''- has disappeared and [[Old Norse]] has ''{{lang|non|ú-}}'' (e.g. {{lang|non|[[Údáinsakr|ú-dáins-akr]]}}), [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] have ''{{lang|no|u-}}'', whereas [[Swedish language|Swedish]] uses ''{{lang|sv|o-}}'' (pronounced [u]), and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] and [[Faroese language|Faroese]] use the related ''{{lang|is|[[wikt:en:ó-#Icelandic|ó-]]}}''.
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===Turkic languages===
In Turkic languages, the counterpart of the privative ''a/an'' is a marker ''{{lang|tr|-ma}}'', agglutinated to the verbal stem.<ref>{{cite book |title=Old Turkic Dictionary |place=Leningrad |publisher=Science |year=1969 |page=657 }}</ref>
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==Homonym==
The prefix {{lang|grc|ἁ-}} ''{{lang|grc-Latn|ha-}}'' (also {{lang|grc|ἀ}}- ''{{lang|grc-Latn|a-}}'' from [[psilosis]]), [[copulative a]], is nearly [[homonym]]ous with privative ''{{lang|grc-Latn|a}}'', but originates from Proto-Indo-European *{{PIE|sm̥}}.<ref name="LSJ" />

==See also==
{{Wiktionary|alpha privative}}
{{Wiktionary|Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/n̥-}}
* [[Copulative a]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Privative A}}
[[Category:Indo-European linguistics]]
[[Category:Greek language]]


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