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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Privative \Priv"a*tive\, adjective [L. privativus: cf. F. privatif. See {Private}.]
1. Causing privation; depriving.
2. Consisting in the absence of something; not positive; negative.
Privative blessings, blessings of immunity, safeguard, liberty, and integrity. --Jer. Taylor.
3. (Gram.) 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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Privative \Priv"a*tive\, noun
1. That of which the essence is the absence of something.
Blackness and darkness are indeed but privatives. --Bacon.
2. (Logic) A term indicating the absence of any quality which might be naturally or rationally expected; -- called also {privative term}.
3. (Gram.) A privative prefix or suffix. See {Privative}, adjective, 3.
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