genitive

[jen-i-tiv]Grammar

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adjective

(in certain inflected languages) noting a case of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives, used primarily to express possession, measure, or origin: as John's hat, week's vacation, duty's call.

noting an affix or other element characteristic of this case, or a word containing such an element.

similar to such a case form in function or meaning.

noun

the genitive case.

a word in the genitive case.

a construction noting this case or the relationship usually expressed by it.

Compare possessive.

Origin of genitive

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin genitīvus, equivalent to genit(us) (past participle of gignere to beget) + -īvus -ive

Related formsgen·i·ti·val

[jen-i-tahy-vuh l] /ˌdʒɛn ɪˈtaɪ vəl/, adjectivegen·i·ti·val·ly, adverbun·gen·i·tive, adjective

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

Related Words for genitive

reproductive, intimate, erotic, carnal, passionate, sensual, animal, bestial, fleshly, loving, sharing, voluptuous, wanton, animalistic, generative, genital, procreative, venereal

Examples from the Web for genitive

Historical Examples of genitive

With the genitive to be supplied: brec þonne mste, 1488; imp.
Beowulf
Unknown
We have a genitive also in Flowerdew, found in French as Flourdieu.
The Romance of Names
Ernest Weekley
The genitive of material is rather the use of a noun as an adjective.
A Handbook of the Cornish Language
Henry Jenner
In this case writers have been puzzled how to form the genitive.
Elements of Gaelic Grammar
Alexander Stewart
The ejection of -na in the genitive plural; as of tunges for tungena.
A Handbook of the English Language
Robert Gordon Latham

British Dictionary definitions for genitive

genitive

adjective

denoting a case of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in inflected languages used to indicate a relation of ownership or association, usually translated by English of

noun

the genitive case
a word or speech element in this case

Derived Formsgenitival (ˌdʒɛnɪˈtaɪvəl), adjectivegenitivally, adverb

Word Origin for genitive

C14: from Latin genetīvus relating to birth, from gignere to produce

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 genitive

adj.

late 14c., from Old French genitif or directly from Latin (casus) genitivus "case expressing possession, source, origin," from genitus (past participle of gignere; see genital); misused by Latin grammarians to render Greek genike (ptosis) "generic (case)," expressing race or kind (see genus). The noun meaning "the genitive case in grammar" is from 1610s.