genitive

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See also: Genitive, and génitive

English

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WOTD – 17 October 2024

Etymology

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The adjective is derived from Late Middle English genetif (“pertaining to the genitive case; pertaining to the generation of offspring”)[1] + English -ive (suffix meaning ‘relating or belonging to’ forming adjectives). Genetif is from Anglo-Norman genetif, genitif, and Middle French genetif, genitif (“pertaining to the generation of offspring, procreative; (grammar) pertaining to the genitive case”) (modern French génitif), and from their etymon Latin genetīvus (“pertaining to the generation of offspring; (grammar) pertaining to the genitive case”) (whence Late Latin genitivus), from genitus (“begotten, engendered; produced”) + -īvus (suffix meaning ‘doing’ or ‘related to doing’ forming adjectives).[2] Genitus is the perfect passive participle of gignō (“to beget, give birth to; to produce, yield”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget, give birth; to produce”).

Latin genetīvus cāsus (or cāsus genetīvus, cāsus genitīvus (literally “grammatical case pertaining to birth or origin”)), was used to translate Koine Greek γενῐκή πτῶσις (genikḗ ptôsis, literally “inflection expressing a genus or kind”) which actually means “generic case”, though it refers to what is now called the genitive case.[2]

The noun is derived from Late Middle English genetif (“genitive case”),[1] from the adjective (see above). Compare Middle French genitif (modern French génitif) and Latin genetīvus (short for genetīvus cāsus (“genitive case”)).[2]

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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genitive (not comparable)

  1. (archaic) Of or pertaining to the generation of offspring; generative, procreative, reproductive.
    Synonym: progenitive
  2. (grammar)
    1. Of a grammatical case: in an inflected language (such as Greek or Latin), expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor; and in an uninflected language (such as English), expressing origin or possession; possessive.
      Coordinate terms: comitative, proprietive
      The student who had taken a German exam realised his error afterwards. He had used the dative case instead of the genitive case to show possession.
      • 1562, Wylliam Turner [i.e., William Turner], “Of the Herbe Called in Latin Irio”, in The Second Parte of Guilliam Turners Herball⸝ […], Cologne: […] Arnold Birckman, →OCLC, folio 23, recto:
        [T]he poticaries and barbarus wryters call it [the iris] Irios in the genetiue caſe.
      • 1669, J[ohn] M[ilton], “Of Nouns”, in Accedence Commenc’t Grammar, […], to Attain the Latin Tongue; […], London: […] S[amuel] Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 5:
        Nouns Subſtantive have five Declenſions or forms of ending thir Caſes, chiefly diſtinguiſht by the different ending of thir Genitive Singular. […] The firſt [declension] is vvhen the Genitive and Dative ſingular end in æ, &c., […]
      • 2024 October 7, Philip Oltermann, “Germans decry influence of English as ‘idiot’s apostrophe’ gets official approval”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎[1], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-10-09:
        Establishments that feature their owners' names, with signs like "Rosi's Bar" or "Kati's Kiosk" are a common sight around German towns and cities, but strictly speaking they are wrong: unlike English, German does not traditionally use apostrophes to indicate the genitive case or possession.
    2. Of, pertaining to, or used in the genitive case.

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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genitive (countable and uncountable, plural genitives) (grammar)

  1. (countable, uncountable) Short for genitive case (“a grammatical case used to express a relationship of origin or possession”).
    • 1669, J[ohn] M[ilton], “Of Cases”, in Accedence Commenc’t Grammar, […], to Attain the Latin Tongue; […], London: […] S[amuel] Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 3:
      Nounes, Pronounes, and Participles are declin'd vvith ſix Endings, vvhich are called Caſes, both in the Singular and Plural Number. The Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accuſative, Vocative, and Ablative. […] The Genitive is Engliſht vvith this Sign of, as Libri of a Book.
  2. (countable) A word inflected in the genitive case, and which thus indicates origin or possession.
    • 1669, J[ohn] M[ilton], “Of Nouns”, in Accedence Commenc’t Grammar, […], to Attain the Latin Tongue; […], London: […] S[amuel] Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 5:
      This one vvord familia joyn'd vvith pater, mater, filius, or filia, endeth the Genitive in as, as pater familias, but ſomtimes familiæ.
    • 1894, Adolf Erman, “Nouns”, in James Henry Breasted, transl., Egyptian Grammar […], London; Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate, […], →OCLC, § 122*, page 49:
      This older kind of genetive [i.e., the direct genetive] is apparently expressed only by the position of the two substantives, in which the governing word stands before the governed:
      pr
      Z1      		 imn
      n      		 A40
      pr i̓mn "House of Amon."

Alternative forms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “ǧenetī̆f, adj. and n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “genitive, adj. and n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2024; “genitive, adj. and n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

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Latin

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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genitīve

  1. vocative masculine singular of genitīvus

Romanian

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Noun

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genitive

  1. plural of genitiv
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