Negative adjectival morphology in Latin.

Abstract

Abstract In the present paper the evaluation of a new etymology for the word uirgō ‘virgin’ serves as occasion for an overview of the morphological prefixes by means of which Latin encodes negation on adjectives and nouns. Using the theoretical framework, whose origin ultimately goes back to Aristotle, three varieties of negation will be described: contrariety, contradiction, and privation. As will be shown, all these varieties, and privation in particular, require some theoretical refinement: in some cases, instead of contrariety, some more adequate conceptualizations are preferable such as neutralization or reverse. In this paper the seven prefixes used to encode negation on adjectives and nouns – dē-, dis-, ex-, in-, nĕ-, sē-, uē- – will be described also diachronically, and for each of them their original function will be tentatively identified.