Negere

Negere is a Latin verb often encountered in modern reference works under the standard lemma negāre, meaning to deny, refuse, or reject. The form negāre represents the infinitive of the verb in classical Latin and is the basis for its conjugation. In some contexts, you may also see the spelling negere, which is not the canonical form in classical grammars but may appear as a nonstandard or archaic variant in certain manuscripts or editions. The verb is transitive and commonly governs a direct statement or clause that is being denied.

In classical Latin, negāre belongs to the first conjugation. Its principal parts are nego, negāre, negāvī, negātum. From these, the standard present active indicative forms are nego, negas, negat, negāmus, negātis, negant. The imperfect is negābam, negābās, negābat, negābāmus, negābātis, negābant. The perfect active is negāvī, negāvistī, negāvit, negāvimus, negāvistis, negāvērunt. The future active forms include negābō, negābis, negābit, negābimus, negābitis, negābunt. Passive forms are rare for negāre; the verb most often appears in the active with a direct object or a subordinate clause.

Usage in Latin centers on denying a proposition or statement. It can take a direct object (e.g., id negō, “I deny that”) or govern a clause introduced by ut or ne, depending on the construction and desired nuance. Frequent collocations include negāre aliquid (“to deny something”), negāre esse factum (“to deny that it happened”), and negāre id fas esse non? (“to deny that it is right to do this?”).

Derivatives in English include negative, negate, and negation, all drawn from the same Latin root negāre. See also Latin grammar and negation. Variant spellings such as negere appear only sporadically and are not standard in classical Latin.