preaffirmative
mə adjective
1.
affirming or assenting; asserting the truth, validity, or fact of something.
2.
expressing agreement or consent; assenting: an affirmative reply.
3.
positive; not negative.
noun
5.
something that affirms or asserts; a positive statement or proposition; affirmation.
6.
a reply indicating assent, as Yes or I do.
7.
a manner or mode that indicates assent: a reply in the affirmative.
8.
the side, as in a debate, that affirms or defends a statement that the opposite side denies or attacks: to speak for the affirmative.
00:10
Preaffirmative
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
interjection
9.
(used to indicate agreement, assent, etc.): “Is this the right way to Lake George?” “Affirmative.”
Origin:
1400–50; < Latin affirmātīvus, equivalent to affirmāt- (see affirmation) + -īvus -ive; replacing late Middle English affirmatyff < Middle French < Latin
1400–50; < Latin affirmātīvus, equivalent to affirmāt- (see affirmation) + -īvus -ive; replacing late Middle English affirmatyff < Middle French < Latin
Related forms
af·firm·a·tive·ly, adverb
o·ver·af·firm·a·tive, adjective
o·ver·af·firm·a·tive·ly, adverb
pre·af·firm·a·tive, adjective
qua·si-af·firm·a·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To preaffirmative
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World English Dictionary
affirmative (əˈfɜːmətɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | confirming or asserting something as true or valid: an affirmative statement |
| 2. | indicating agreement or assent: an affirmative answer |
| 3. | logic |
| a. (of a categorial proposition) affirming the satisfaction by the subject of the predicate, as in all birds have feathers; some men are married | |
| b. Compare negative not containing negation | |
| —n | |
| 4. | a positive assertion |
| 5. | a word or phrase stating agreement or assent, such as yes (esp in the phrase answer in the affirmative) |
| 6. | logic an affirmative proposition |
| 7. | chiefly (US), (Canadian) the affirmative the side in a debate that supports the proposition |
| —sentence substitute | |
| 8. | military a signal codeword used to express assent or confirmation |
| af'firmatively | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
affirmative
c.1500, from Fr. affirmatif (13c.), from L. affirmativus, from pp. stem of affirmare (see affirm). Meaning "answering yes" is from c.1400, from use in logic. Affirmative action "positive effort by employers to prevent discrimination in hiring or promotion" is attested from
1935 with regard to labor practices; specific racial sense is from 1961; now often used more generally in ref. to hiring quotas, etc.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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