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.”

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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"

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Etymology

Origin of ablative absolute

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

But apparently, only a few youngsters mull over the ablative absolute out of sheer joy.

From Time Magazine Archive

Finding an ablative absolute, they are confident of finding some sort of proposition: and there it is, to their hand.

From Household Education by Martineau, Harriet

She could never master the ablative absolute, nor what used to be called at Brossard's le que retranché, nor see the necessity of demonstrating by A + B what was sufficiently obvious to her without.

From The Martian by Du Maurier, George

An absolute construction, imitating the Latin ablative absolute.

From Minor Poems by Milton by Milton, John

I do hope these chameleon artists will leave us the multiplication table, the yardstick, and the ablative absolute.

From Reveries of a Schoolmaster by Pearson, Francis B.