genitive

(jeni tiv)

adjective

Gram. designating, of, or in a relational case typically expressing possession, source, or a partitive concept

Origin: ME genitif < OFr < L (casus) genitivus, lit., (case) of orig. < genitus (see genital): mistransl. < Gr genikē, generic (case), (case) of genus < Gr genos, genus

noun

  1. the genitive case: expressed by inflection in languages such as Latin and either by an analytical construction or by inflection in English (Ex.: the sons of the queen; the queen's sons)
  2. a word or phrase in this case

See genitive in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective
  1. Of, relating to, or being the grammatical case expressing possession, measurement, or source.
  2. Of or relating to an affix or construction, such as a prepositional phrase, characteristic of the genitive case.
noun
  1. The genitive case.
  2. A word or form in the genitive case.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English genetif

Origin: , from Latin genetīvus

Origin: , from genitus

Origin: , past participle of gignere, to beget; see genə- in Indo-European roots

.

Learn more about genitive

link/cite print suggestion box