copulative

American  

[kop-yuh-ley-tiv, -luh-tiv] / ˈkɒp yəˌleɪ tɪv, -lə tɪv /

adjective

1. serving to unite or couple.

2. Grammar.

   1. involving or consisting of connected words or clauses.

      a copulative sentence.

   2. pertaining to or serving as a copula; serving to connect subject and complement.

      a copulative verb.

   3. serving to connect nouns, noun phrases, verbs, clauses, etc..

      a copulative conjunction.

   4. of the dvandva type.

      Bittersweet is a copulative compound.

3. of or relating to sexual intercourse.

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noun

1. Grammar. a copulative word.

copulative British  

/ ˈkɒpjʊlətɪv /

adjective

1. serving to join or unite

2. of or characteristic of copulation

3. grammar (of a verb) having the nature of a copula

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Other Word Forms

• copulatively adverb

Etymology

Origin of copulative

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English copulatif, from Middle French copulatif, copulative, from Late Latin cōpulātīvus; copulate, -ive

Example Sentences

These should be followed by the copulative verb; after which should come the intransitive verb and its nominative in the different tenses, and the transitive with its object in the same way.

From Project Gutenberg

C. L. N. A. I. J. Bl. says the omission of the copulative wa in line 4 of the original is characteristic of Khayyam.

From Project Gutenberg

To speak in academical language, the conjunction in this case is the disjunctive 'or,' not the copulative 'and.'

From Project Gutenberg

In the English Bible this particle is usually rendered by the copulative conjunction and; in the Septuagint, and in Josephus, however, it sometimes has the sense of but.

From Project Gutenberg

The males of nearly all Cephalopoda have been shown to be characterized by a peculiar modification of the arm-like processes or lobes of the fore-foot, connected with the copulative function.

From Project Gutenberg