negation

Noun

WordNet 3.0

Noun (3)

  1. a negative statement; a statement that is a refusal or denial of some other statement
  2. the speech act of negating
  3. (logic) a proposition that is true if and only if another proposition is false
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Negation \Ne*ga"tion\, n. [L. negatio, fr. negare to say no, to deny; ne not + the root of aio I say; cf. Gr. ?, Skr. ah to say; cf. F. n['e]gation. See No, adv., and cf. Adage, Deny, Renegade.]

1.The act of denying; assertion of the nonreality or untruthfulness of anything; declaration that something is not, or has not been, or will not be; denial; -- the opposite of affirmation. [1913 Webster]

Our assertions and negations should be yea and nay.— Rogers.[1913 Webster]

2.(Logic) Description or definition by denial, exclusion, or exception; statement of what a thing is not, or has not, from which may be inferred what it is or has. [1913 Webster]

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