Negative sign

Negative \Neg"a*tive\ (n[e^]g"[.a]*t[i^]v), a. [F. n['e]gatif,
   L. negativus, fr. negare to deny. See {Negation}.]
   1. Denying; implying, containing, or asserting denial,
      negation or refusal; returning the answer no to an inquiry
      or request; refusing assent; as, a negative answer; a
      negative opinion; -- opposed to {affirmative}.
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            If thou wilt confess,
            Or else be impudently negative.       --Shak.
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            Denying me any power of a negative voice. --Eikon
                                                  Basilike.
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            Something between an affirmative bow and a negative
            shake.                                --Dickens.
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   2. Not positive; without affirmative statement or
      demonstration; indirect; consisting in the absence of
      something; privative; as, a negative argument; negative
      evidence; a negative morality; negative criticism.
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            There in another way of denying Christ, . . . which
            is negative, when we do not acknowledge and confess
            him.                                  --South.
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   3. (Logic) Asserting absence of connection between a subject
      and a predicate; as, a negative proposition.
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   4. (Photog.) Of or pertaining to a picture upon glass or
      other material, in which the lights and shades of the
      original, and the relations of right and left, are
      reversed.
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   5. (Chem.) Metalloidal; nonmetallic; -- contrasted with
      {positive} or {basic}; as, the nitro group is negative.
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   Note: This word, derived from electro-negative, is now
         commonly used in a more general sense, when acidiferous
         is the intended signification.
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   {Negative crystal}.
      (a) A cavity in a mineral mass, having the form of a
          crystal.
      (b) A crystal which has the power of negative double
          refraction. See {refraction}.

   {negative electricity} (Elec.), the kind of electricity which
      is developed upon resin or ebonite when rubbed, or which
      appears at that pole of a voltaic battery which is
      connected with the plate most attacked by the exciting
      liquid; -- formerly called {resinous electricity}. Opposed
      to {positive electricity}. Formerly, according to
      Franklin's theory of a single electric fluid, negative
      electricity was supposed to be electricity in a degree
      below saturation, or the natural amount for a given body.
      See {Electricity}.

   {Negative eyepiece}. (Opt.) see under {Eyepiece}.

   {Negative quantity} (Alg.), a quantity preceded by the
      negative sign, or which stands in the relation indicated
      by this sign to some other quantity. See {Negative sign}
      (below).

   {Negative rotation}, right-handed rotation. See
      {Right-handed}, 3.

   {Negative sign}, the sign -, or {minus} (opposed in
      signification to +, or {plus}), indicating that the
      quantity to which it is prefixed is to be subtracted from
      the preceding quantity, or is to be reckoned from zero or
      cipher in the opposite direction to that of quanties
      having the sign plus either expressed or understood; thus,
      in a - b, b is to be substracted from a, or regarded as
      opposite to it in value; and -10[deg] on a thermometer
      means 10[deg] below the zero of the scale.
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