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genitive
adjective
gen·i·tive
Ë?je-nÉ™-tiv
1
: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case (see case entry 1 sense 3a) that typically marks a person or thing that possesses someone or something else or the source from which someone or something comes compare possessive
2
: expressing a relationship that in some inflected languages is often marked by a genitive case
—used especially of English prepositional phrases introduced by of
genitive
noun
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin genetivus, genitivus, literally, of generation (erroneous translation of Greek genikos genitive), from genitus
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of genitive was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing genitive
Dictionary Entries Near genitive
Cite this Entry
“Genitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genitive. Accessed 8 Jan. 2025.
Kids Definition
genitive
adjective
gen·i·tive
Ë?jen-É™t-iv
: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case marking typically possession or source compare possessive
genitival
adjective
ËŒjen-É™-Ë?tÄ«-vÉ™l
genitive
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on genitive
Britannica English: Translation of genitive for Arabic Speakers
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