copulative
Americanadjective
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serving to unite or couple.
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Grammar.
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involving or consisting of connected words or clauses.
a copulative sentence.
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pertaining to or serving as a copula; serving to connect subject and complement.
a copulative verb.
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serving to connect nouns, noun phrases, verbs, clauses, etc..
a copulative conjunction.
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of the dvandva type.
Bittersweet is a copulative compound.
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of or relating to sexual intercourse.
noun
adjective
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serving to join or unite
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of or characteristic of copulation
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grammar (of a verb) having the nature of a copula
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of copulative
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English copulatif, from Middle French copulatif, copulative, from Late Latin cōpulātīvus; see copulate, -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among the incomplete intransitive verbs the most conspicuous are the copula and the copulative verbs.
From Composition-Rhetoric by Stratton D. Brooks
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 The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam by Omar Khayyam
Conjunctions copulative and disjunctive, couple like cases, moods, and tenses, as Socrates docuit Xenophontem et Platonem geographiam, astronomiam, et rationem globorum: Socrates taught Xenophon and Plato geography, astronomy, and the use of the globes.
From The Comic Latin Grammar A new and facetious introduction to the Latin tongue by John Leech
That no number of connected singular nouns can govern a plural verb, unless they be connected by a copulative conjunction.
From A Handbook of the English Language by R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham
In such a sentence as, "He that cometh to God must believe that He is," the word is means exists.Verbs that are like the copula, such as, appear, become, seem, etc., are called copulative verbs.
From Composition-Rhetoric by Stratton D. Brooks
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
