ablative Hear it!

ablative definition

ab·la·tive (ab′lə tiv; for adj. 2, ab lāt′iv)

adjective

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

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

noun

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

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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