Privative a

In Ancient Greek grammar, privative a (also known as privative alpha; in Latin, α prīvātīvum) is the prefix a- that expresses negation or absence (e.g., a-theos, a-typical). It is derived from a Proto-Indo-European syllabic nasal *n̥-, the zero ablaut grade of the negation *ne, i.e. /n/ used as a vowel. For this reason, it appears as an- before vowel (e.g. an-alphabetism, an-esthesia, an-archy).^[1]

Cognates

Sanskrit

The same prefix appears in Sanskrit, also as a-, an-

Latin

In Latin, the cognate prefix is in-. The prepositional prefix in- is different.

Germanic languages

In English and other West Germanic languages, the cognate is un-, except in Dutch, where it is on-.

In North Germanic languages, the -n- has disappeared and Old Norse has ú- (e.g., ú-dáins-akr), Danish and Norwegian have u-, whereas Swedish uses o- (pronounced [u]), and Icelandic and Faroese use the related ó-.

Homonym

The prefix ἁ- ha- (also ἀ- a- from psilosis), copulative a, is nearly homonymous with privative a, but originates from Proto-Indo-European *sm̥.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ἀ1. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at Perseus Project