-ive
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Etymology
From Middle English -yf, from Anglo-Norman -if from Latin -īvus. Until the fourteenth century, all Middle English loanwords from Anglo-Norman ended in -if (compare actif, natif, sensitif, pensif etc.). Under the influence of literary Neo-Latin, both languages introduced the form -ive. Those forms that have not been replaced were subsequently changed to end in -y (compare hasty, from hastif, jolly, from jolif etc.).
Like the Latin suffix -iō (genitive -iōnis), the Latin suffix -ivus is appended to the perfect passive participle to form an adjective of action.
Pronunciation
Suffix
-ive
- An adjective suffix signifying relating or belonging to, of the nature of, tending to, or serving to; as: affirmative, active, conclusive, corrective, diminutive.
Derived terms
Translations
adjectival suffix: of the nature of; tending to
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References
- “-ive”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- Miller, D. Gary (2006) Latin Suffixal Derivatives in English: and their Indo-European Ancestry, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 204
Anagrams
French
Pronunciation
Suffix
-ive f
- female equivalent of -if
Latin
Suffix
-īve
Middle English
Suffix
-ive
- Alternative form of -yf
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