dative

[ dey-tiv ]

/ ˈdeɪ tɪv /

Grammar

adjective

(in certain inflected languages, as Latin, Greek, and German) noting a case having as a distinctive function indication of the indirect object of a verb or the object of certain prepositions.

noun

the dative case.

a word or form in that case, as Latin regi in regi haec dicite meaning “tell this to the king.”

Nearby words

dating, dating agency, dating bar, dating nail, datival, dative, dative bond, datively, dato, datolite, datong

Origin of dative

1400–50; late Middle English datif < Latin datīvus (casus) dative (case), equivalent to dat(us) given (see date¹) + -īvus -ive; translation of Greek dotikḗ (ptôsis)

Related formsda·ti·val

[dey-tahy-vuh l] /deɪˈtaɪ vəl/, adjectiveda·tive·ly, adverbnon·da·ti·val, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dative

Either accusative or dative would be acceptable enough with latere.
The Last Poems of Ovid|Ovid
Of the other cases, the dative and accusative occur most frequently with prepositions.
Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book|C. Alphonso Smith
Swa ibruce &c., As surely as I possess my kingdom: brcan usually takes a genitive; here with dative or accusative.
Selections from Early Middle English 1130-1250: Part II: Notes|Various
The sense of the word is abverbial; its form, however, is that of a dative case.
A Handbook of the English Language|Robert Gordon Latham

Probably folc should be taken as dative, or folke should be read; and sends it to the people and thereby betokens &c.
Selections from Early Middle English 1130-1250: Part II: Notes|Various

British Dictionary definitions for dative

dative

/ (ˈdeɪtɪv) grammar /

adjective

denoting a case of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives used to express the indirect object, to identify the recipients, and for other purposes

noun

the dative case
a word or speech element in this case

Derived Formsdatival (deɪˈtaɪvəl), adjectivedatively, adverb

Word Origin for dative

C15: from Latin datīvus, from dare to give; translation of Greek dotikos

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dative

dative

adj.

mid-15c., from Latin dativus "pertaining to giving," from datus "given" (see date (n.1)); in grammatical use from Greek dotike (ptosis) "dative (case)," from dotikos "of giving nature," from dotos "given," from PIE root *do- "to give," from the same PIE root as the Latin word. In law, "that may be disposed of at pleasure," from 1530s.