An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

1. General: Explicitly stated, stipulated, or expressed.
   

2. Capable of being measured, detected, or perceived.
   

3. Math.: Noting a quantity greater than zero.
   

4. Physics: Having an electrical charge of the same polarity as that of a proton.
   

5. Photography: Having colors or values of dark and light corresponding to the subject.
   

6. Philosophy: Relating to the theory that knowledge can be acquired only through direct observation and experimentation, and not through metaphysics or theology. → positivism.
   

7. Law: Conclusive and beyond doubt or question; irrefutable.
   

8. Opposite of → negative.
   

See also:
→ positive charge, → positive correlation, → positive feedback, → positive skewness, → positiveness, → positivism.

Etymology (EN): M.E., from O.Fr. positif, from L. positivus “placed, settled; positive” (opposed to naturalis “natural”), from posit-, from positus “placed, put,” p.p. of ponere “to put, place, set” + -ivus a suffix of adjectives.

Etymology (PE): Dâhidâr, from dâhid- + -âr. The first component is the past stem of *dâhidan “to put, create, determine,” variant of dehidan, dâdan “to give;” from Mid.Pers. dâdan, dahidan “to give; to create;” O.Pers. dā- “to give, grant, yield;” Av. dā- “to give, grant; put; create; determine;” dāhi “he would give/put” (single second person, subjunctive transitive), dadāiti “he gives;” cf. Skt. dadáti “he gives;” Gk. tithenai “to place, put, set,” didomi “I give;”
L. dare “to give, offer,” facere “to do, to make;” Rus. delat’ “to do;” O.H.G. tuon, Ger. tun, O.E. don “to do;” PIE base *dhe- “to put, to do.” The second component -âr, accusative suffix; on the model of gereftâr “captive, involved (in trouble),” didâr “exposed to view.”