Privative /(?)/
Priv·a·tive
Privative
a.
- Causing privation; depriving.
-
Consisting in the absence of something; not positive; negative.
Privative blessings, blessings of immunity, safeguard, liberty, and integrity.
- Implying privation or negation; giving a negative force to a word; as, alpha privative; privative particles; -- applied to such prefixes and suffixes as a- (Gr. ), un-, non-, -less. (Gram.)
Privative
n.
-
That of which the essence is the absence of something.
Blackness and darkness are indeed but privatives.
- A term indicating the absence of any quality which might be naturally or rationally expected; -- called also privative term. (Logic)
- A privative prefix or suffix. See Privative, a., 3. (Gram.)