ablative absolute

American  

noun

Latin Grammar.

1. a construction not dependent upon any other part of the sentence, consisting of a noun and a participle, noun and adjective, or two nouns, in which both members are in the ablative case, as Latin viā factā, “the road having been made.”

---

ablative absolute British  

noun

1. an absolute construction in Latin grammar in which a governor noun and a modifier in the ablative case function as a sentence modifier; for example, hostibus victis, "the enemy having been beaten"

---

Etymology

Origin of ablative absolute

First recorded in 1520–30