Dictionary Home » Dictionary Definitions » ablative

ablative

Listen See in a sentence

(ab′lə tiv; for adj. 2, ab lāt′iv)

adjective

Gram. designating, of, or in a case expressing removal, deprivation, direction away from, source, cause, or agency
Astrophysics that ablates, as the protective coating material on the nose cone of a space missile

Origin: ME < L ablativus < ablatus, pp. of auferre < ab-, away + ferre, to bear

noun

the ablative case: this case is expressed by inflection in languages such as Latin, Sanskrit, and Hungarian
a word or phrase in this case

See ablative in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Of, relating to, or being a grammatical case indicating separation, direction away from, sometimes manner or agency, and the object of certain verbs. It is found in Latin and other Indo-European languages.

noun