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One of Mr. Nunberg's chapters is titled Ten Suffixes That Changed the World (and he only named four of them, dang it!), but my attention has fallen on a prefix.
How did 'un' come to be used for negation? Or, as my Chambers interestingly says, ...more than a mere negation, it has a positive force ..., using the example of unkind meaning "cruel", not just "not kind".
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In the usage lines of today's word I read the word unflappable: Persistently calm, whether when facing difficulties or experiencing success; not easily upset or excited. Is this what you mean by 'un' being a positive force in stead of being a mere negation? I'd been thinking on the meaning of your post for several days. (very amusing word 'unflappable') Unflappable ears. 
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If it's negating a negative thing it's going to be acting in a somewhat positive manner. The AHD has a useful usage note. There is also a separate prefix un- that is used with verbs.
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Is this what you mean by 'un' being a positive force in stead of being a mere negation? It was the Chambers dictionary, not I who put it that way. I took it to mean more active than passive--er, that's not quite accurate. More in the same way that "pitch black" differs from "unlit". I just thought it was interesting that they used the word positive when talking about a negation!
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Jaja, it's interesting, besides the case of un- and in- (faldage)
it seems like it depends on what adjective it is attached to.
Like unflinching is a positive quality in general. And unbending can have a positive as well as a negative content. ( and more of this) :-)
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As Faldage says are two uns: the negating un- as in uncomfortable, unkind, etc. And the un- expressing reversal or deprivation, as in untie, undone, etc.
Like unflinching is a positive quality in general. And unbending can have a positive as well as a negative content. ( and more of this) :-)
has the negating un-, but unbending has the reversing un-. At least etymologically: unbend means something like "reverse the bend, straighten". But maybe unbending has been reanalyzed to contain the negating un-, because to me it seems to mean something like "not bending".
Last edited by goofy; 10/15/11 06:52 PM.
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That's what I meant. Not bending, when I understand unbending as such, can be a good as well as a bad quality depending on the context, the subject or circumstances.
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unflinching has the negating un- Yeahbut--being unflinching is pretty much always a positive, isn't it? 'Nother one of those positive negations!
Unbending, on the other hand, as Branny says, can swing both ways.
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I don't understand why it's a big deal that a word with a negative prefix can have a positive meaning. After all, words referring to bad qualities can be negated too. Anyway, grammatical negation isn't a bad or undesirable thing, it's just negation.
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Not a big deal, just amusing.
'words referring to bad qualities can be negated too'(how do you mean this?)?
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