copulative

[kop-yuh-ley-tiv, -luh-tiv]

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.

noun

1. Grammar.,  a copulative word.

copulative

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• copulatively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of copulative¹

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

Example Sentences

The copulative prowess of a 17th-century Moroccan emperor, for instance, was the subject of a study by German and Austrian mathematicians who won a prize.

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On my recent foray into the universe of Tinder, I encountered plenty of sexed-up New Yorkers eager after only a few texts to engage in almost any sort of copulative activity.

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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.

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

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

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