Origin and diffusion of the negative prefix anti- in Romance Languages

The aim of the present work is to trace the origin and diffusion of the negative prefix anti- in French, Italian and Spanish, with particular attention to the analogical models and the (potential) lexical borrowings which contributed to the convergent emergence of the semantic patterns ‘opposed to/ against N’ (i.e. FR. antifasciste); and ‘contrast/cure of N’ (i.e. IT. antitumorale).
Our analysis shows that the leader words of both patterns are some Neo-Latin coinages formed respectively in ecclesiastic and medical Latin, which were transmitted to these languages between the 16th and the 18th century. A massive circulation of interromance lexical borrowings coined in the field of politics between the 18th and the 19th century contributed to the establishment and to a significant expansion in the use of the pattern ‘opposed to/ against N’; as far as the pattern ‘contrast/cure of N’ is concerned, interromance borrowings did not play a main role in its diffusion, which had already occurred with the many Latin borrowings and especially strengthened by the role of 20th century media. The French language played an important role in the mediation of both patterns to the other languages.
In wider terms, the present contribution provides a framework on the history of the use of anti- in the main Romance languages.