Emily Dickinson Lexicon

NEG'A-TIVE, a. [Fr. negatif; L. negativus.]

1. Implying denial or negation; opposed to affirmative, as a negative proposition is that which denies. Mater is not spirit.
2. Implying absence; opposed to positive. There is a negative way of denying Christ, when we do not acknowledge and confess him. South.
3. Having the power of stopping or restraining. A negative voice in legislation is a voice or vote to prevent the passing of a law or decree. Negative sign, in algebra, the sign of subtraction, a sign which indicates that the quantity to which it is prefixed is to be subtracted. It is opposed to positive or affirmative; as, ab–n. Negative electricity, according to Dr. Franklin, is a deficiency of the fluid in substance, or less than the substance naturally contains.