genitive

[ jen-i-tiv ]
/ ˈdʒɛn ɪ tɪv /
Grammar

adjective

(in certain inflected languages) noting a case of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives, used primarily to express possession, measure, or origin: as John's hat, week's vacation, duty's call.
noting an affix or other element characteristic of this case, or a word containing such an element.
similar to such a case form in function or meaning.

noun

the genitive case.
a word in the genitive case.
a construction noting this case or the relationship usually expressed by it.
Compare possessive.

Origin of genitive

1350–1400; Middle English < Medieval Latin genitīvus, equivalent to genit(us) (past participle of gignere to beget) + -īvus -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM genitive

gen·i·ti·val [jen-i-tahy-vuh l] /ˌdʒɛn ɪˈtaɪ vəl/, adjective gen·i·ti·val·ly, adverb un·gen·i·tive, adjective

Words nearby genitive

genital tract, genital wart, genitalia, genitality, genitals, genitive, genito-, genitocrural, genitofemoral, genitofemoral nerve, genitor

Example sentences from the Web for genitival

  • Such are the chief priori arguments against the genitival character of words like mine and thine.

    The English Language |Robert Gordon Latham

  • I shall have occasion to notice the peculiar use of the genitive case and of genitival adjectives in worship later on.

    The Religious Experience of the Roman People |W. Warde Fowler

British Dictionary definitions for genitival

genitive
/ (ˈdʒɛnɪtɪv) grammar /

adjective

denoting a case of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in inflected languages used to indicate a relation of ownership or association, usually translated by English of

noun

  1. the genitive case
  2. a word or speech element in this case

Derived forms of genitive

genitival (ˌdʒɛnɪˈtaɪvəl), adjective genitivally, adverb

Word Origin for genitive

C14: from Latin genetīvus relating to birth, from gignere to produce