different between earnest vs positive
earnest
English
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /??n?st/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /???n?st/
- Homophone: Ernest
Etymology 1
From Middle English ernest, eornest, from Old English eornest, eornost, eornust (“earnestness, zeal, seriousness, battle”), from Proto-Germanic *ernustuz (“earnest, strength, solidity, struggle, fight”), a derivative of Proto-Germanic *arniz (“efficient, capable, diligent, sure”), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (“to cause to move, arouse, increase”). Cognate with West Frisian earnst (“earnest, seriousness”), Dutch ernst (“seriousness, gravity, earnest”), German Ernst (“seriousness, earnestness, zeal, vigour”), Icelandic ern (“brisk, vigorous”), Gothic ???????????????????????? (arniba, “secure, certain, sure”).
The adjective is from Middle English eornest, from Old English eornoste (“earnest, zealous, serious”), from the noun. Cognate with North Frisian ernste (“earnest”), Middle Low German ernest, ernst (“serious, earnest”), German ernst (“serious, earnest”).
Noun
earnest (uncountable)
- Gravity; serious purpose; earnestness.
- 1914, February 13, The Times, Obituary: Canon Augustus Jessopp
- He wrote well in a forcible, colloquial style, with the air of being tremendously in earnest, and full of knowledge which overflowed his pages, tricked out with somewhat boisterous illustrations.
- c. 1575-a 1586, Sir Philip Sidney, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia
- Take heed that this jest do not one day turn to earnest.
- c. 1592, William Shakespeare, Richard III: Act 5, Scene 1
- That high All-Seer which I dallied with
- Hath turn'd my feigned prayer on my head
- And given in earnest what I begg'd in jest.
- 1914, February 13, The Times, Obituary: Canon Augustus Jessopp
- Seriousness; reality; actuality (as opposed to joking or pretence)
Derived terms
- earnestful
- in earnest
Translations
Verb
earnest (third-person singular simple present earnests, present participle earnesting, simple past and past participle earnested)
- (transitive) To be serious with; use in earnest.
- 1602, Pastor Fido:
- Let's prove among ourselves our armes in jest, That when we come to earnest them with men, We may them better use.
- 1602, Pastor Fido:
Adjective
earnest (comparative earnester or more earnest, superlative earnestest or most earnest)
- (said of an action or an utterance) Serious or honest
- (with a positive sense) Focused in the pursuit of an objective; eager to obtain or do.
- Intent; focused; showing a lot of concentration.
- (said of a person or a person's character) Possessing or characterised by seriousness.
- Strenuous; diligent.
- Serious; weighty; of a serious, weighty, or important nature; important.
Derived terms
- earnestly
- earnestness
- in earnest
Translations
Etymology 2
Of uncertain origin; apparently related to erres. Compare also arles.
Noun
earnest (plural earnests)
- A sum of money paid in advance as a deposit; hence, a pledge, a guarantee, an indication of something to come.
- Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
- 1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society 2010, p. 365:
- But if all this was viewed by Gladstone and the Cabinet as an earnest of St Petersburg's future good intentions in Central Asia, then disillusionment was soon to follow.
Translations
See also
- Earnest
- earnest money
Etymology 3
earn +? -est
Verb
earnest
- (archaic) second-person singular simple present form of earn
Anagrams
- Eastern, Saetern, Tareens, eastern, estrane, nearest, renates, sterane
earnest From the web:
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positive
English
Alternative forms
- +ve (abbreviation)
Etymology
From Old French positif, from Latin positivus, from the past participle stem of ponere (“to place”). Compare posit.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?p?z??t?v/
- (General American) enPR: p?z??-t?v, IPA(key): /?p?z??t?v/
- Rhymes: -?z?t?v
- Hyphenation (UK): pos?it?ive, (US): pos?i?tive
Adjective
positive (comparative more positive, superlative most positive)
- Not negative or neutral.
- (law) Formally laid down. [from the 14th c.]
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- In laws, that which is natural bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so.
- 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie
- Stated definitively and without qualification. [from the 16th c.]
- Positive words, that he would not bear arms against King Edward’s son.
- Fully assured in opinion. [from the 17th c.]
- (mathematics) Of number, greater than zero. [from the 18th c.]
- Antonym: nonpositive
- Characterized by constructiveness or influence for the better.
- Overconfident, dogmatic.
- (chiefly philosophy) Actual, real, concrete, not theoretical or speculative.
- 1597 Francis Bacon, The Colours of Good and Evil
- The flower or blossom is a a positive good.
- 1597 Francis Bacon, The Colours of Good and Evil
- (physics) Having more protons than electrons.
- Antonym: negative
- (grammar) Describing the primary sense of an adjective, adverb or noun; not comparative, superlative, augmentative nor diminutive.
- Derived from an object by itself; not dependent on changing circumstances or relations; absolute.
- Characterized by the existence or presence of distinguishing qualities or features, rather than by their absence.
- Characterized by the presence of features which support a hypothesis.
- (photography) Of a visual image, true to the original in light, shade and colour values.
- Favorable, desirable by those interested or invested in that which is being judged.
- Wholly what is expressed; colloquially downright, entire, outright.
- Optimistic. [from the 20th c.]
- (chemistry) electropositive
- (chemistry) basic; metallic; not acid; opposed to negative, and said of metals, bases, and basic radicals.
- (slang) HIV positive.
- quoted in 2013, William I. Johnston, HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected Are Affected by AIDS (page 145)
- We certainly told him at that time that I was negative. We talked about transmission. We told him we don't do anything that would cause me to become positive.
- quoted in 2013, William I. Johnston, HIV-Negative: How the Uninfected Are Affected by AIDS (page 145)
- (New Age jargon) Good, desirable, healthful, pleasant, enjoyable; (often precedes 'energy', 'thought', 'feeling' or 'emotion').
- 2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, John Wiley & Sons, p. 15
- Negative feelings can be worked through and their energy converted into positive energy... In crisis, normal patterns of self-organization fail, resulting in anxiety (negative energy). Being open systems, people can exchange this energy with the environment and create positive energy for taking action...
- 2009, Christopher Johns, Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, John Wiley & Sons, p. 15
Synonyms
- (steadfast in one's knowledge or belief): certain, sure, wis
Antonyms
- (doubtful): uncertain, unsure
- (spiritual quality): bad, evil, nongood
Derived terms
Translations
Noun
positive (plural positives)
- A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.
- rating Positives by their Privatives
- A favourable point or characteristic.
- Something having a positive value in physics, such as an electric charge.
- (grammar) A degree of comparison of adjectives and adverbs.
- (grammar) An adjective or adverb in the positive degree.
- (photography) A positive image; one that displays true colors and shades, as opposed to a negative.
- The positive plate of a voltaic or electrolytic cell.
- A positive result of a test.
Translations
Danish
Adjective
positive
- inflection of positiv:
- definite singular
- plural
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /po.zi.tiv/
- Homophones: positivent, positives
Adjective
positive
- feminine singular of positif
Verb
positive
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive of positiver
- second-person singular imperative of positiver
German
Pronunciation
Adjective
positive
- inflection of positiv:
- strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
- strong nominative/accusative plural
- weak nominative all-gender singular
- weak accusative feminine/neuter singular
Italian
Adjective
positive
- feminine plural of positivo
Anagrams
- sopitevi
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /po.si?ti?.u?e/, [p?s???t?i?u??]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /po.si?ti.ve/, [p?s?i?t?i?v?]
Adjective
posit?ve
- vocative masculine singular of posit?vus
Norwegian Bokmål
Adjective
positive
- definite singular of positiv
- plural of positiv
Norwegian Nynorsk
Adjective
positive
- definite singular of positiv
- plural of positiv
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /posi?tibe/, [po.si?t?i.??e]
Verb
positive
- First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of positivar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of positivar.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of positivar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of positivar.
Swedish
Adjective
positive
- absolute definite natural masculine form of positiv.
positive From the web:
- what positive words start with k
- what positive words start with e
- what positive words start with x
- what positive number doubles
- what's a positive word that starts with k
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