ergative Hear it!

ergative definition

er·ga·tive (ʉr′gə tiv)

adjective

  1. designating, of, or in the case that is taken by the subject of a transitive verb in some languages, as Basque or Georgian, in which the direct object of a transitive verb and the subject of the related intransitive share the same case
  2. designating or of a verb or language whose transitive and intransitive uses are related in this way

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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