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

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 The Religion of Geology and Its Connected Sciences by Hitchcock, Edward

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 Leech, John

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 Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)

One of the commonest forms is the copulative, such as Salt is both savoury and wholesome, equivalent to two simple propositions: Salt is savoury; Salt is wholesome.

From Logic Deductive and Inductive by Read, Carveth

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 Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 10 "David, St" to "Demidov" by Various