(in Greek grammar) the letter alpha (or an- before vowels) used as a negative or privative prefix. It appears in English words derived from Greek, as in atheist, anaesthetic
alpha privative in American English
noun
the prefix a- or, before a vowel, an-, used in Greek and English to express negation or absence
Word origin
[1580–90]This word is first recorded in the period 1580–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: filibuster, humanist, motor, reference, stigma