genitive

See also: Genitive and génitive

WOTD – 17 October 2024

Etymology

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English genetif (“pertaining to the genitive case; pertaining to the generation of offspring”)^[1] + English -ive (suffix meaning ‘relating or belonging to’ forming adjectives). Genetif is from Anglo-Norman genetif, genitif, and Middle French genetif, genitif (“pertaining to the generation of offspring, procreative; (grammar) pertaining to the genitive case”) (modern French génitif), and from their etymon Latin genetīvus (“pertaining to the generation of offspring; (grammar) pertaining to the genitive case”) (whence Late Latin genitivus), from genitus (“begotten, engendered; produced”) + -īvus (suffix meaning ‘doing’ or ‘related to doing’ forming adjectives).^[2] Genitus is the perfect passive participle of gignō (“to beget, give birth to; to produce, yield”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget, give birth; to produce”).

Latin genetīvus cāsus (or cāsus genetīvus, cāsus genitīvus (literally “grammatical case pertaining to birth or origin”)), was used to translate Koine Greek γενῐκή πτῶσις (genikḗ ptôsis, literally “inflection expressing a genus or kind”) which actually means “generic case”, though it refers to what is now called the genitive case.^[2]

The noun is derived from Late Middle English genetif (“genitive case”),^[1] from the adjective (see above). Compare Middle French genitif (modern French génitif) and Latin genetīvus (short for genetīvus cāsus (“genitive case”)).^[2]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnɪtɪv/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) enPR: jĕ'nətĭv, IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnətɪv/
Hyphenation: gen‧it‧ive

Adjective

genitive (not comparable)

(archaic) Of or pertaining to the generation of offspring; generative, procreative, reproductive.
Synonym: progenitive
(grammar)
1. Of a grammatical case: in an inflected language (such as Greek or Latin), expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor; and in an uninflected language (such as English), expressing origin or possession; possessive.
  Coordinate terms: comitative, proprietive
  
  The student who had taken a German exam realised his error afterwards. He had used the dative case instead of the genitive case to show possession.
  - 1562, Wylliam Turner [i.e., William Turner], “Of the Herbe Called in Latin Irio”, in The Second Parte of Guilliam Turners Herball⸝ […], Cologne: […] Arnold Birckman, →OCLC, folio 23, recto:
    [T]he poticaries and barbarus wryters call it [the iris] Irios in the genetiue caſe.
  - 1669, J[ohn] M[ilton], “Of Nouns”, in Accedence Commenc’t Grammar, […], to Attain the Latin Tongue; […], London: […] S[amuel] Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 5:
    Nouns Subſtantive have five Declenſions or forms of ending thir Caſes, chiefly diſtinguiſht by the different ending of thir Genitive Singular. […] The firſt [declension] is vvhen the Genitive and Dative ſingular end in æ, &c., […]
  - 2024 October 7, Philip Oltermann, “Germans decry influence of English as ‘idiot’s apostrophe’ gets official approval”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-10-09:
    Establishments that feature their owners' names, with signs like "Rosi's Bar" or "Kati's Kiosk" are a common sight around German towns and cities, but strictly speaking they are wrong: unlike English, German does not traditionally use apostrophes to indicate the genitive case or possession.
2. Of, pertaining to, or used in the genitive case.

Alternative forms

genetive (archaic)

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

of or pertaining to the generation of offspring — see reproductive

of a grammatical case: expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor, or expressing origin or possession; of, pertaining to, or used in the genitive case

Afrikaans: genitief (af)
Albanian: gjinore (sq)
Arabic: إِضَافِيّ (ʔiḍāfiyy), جَرِّيّ (jarriyy), خَفْضِيّ (ḵafḍiyy)
Armenian: սեռական (hy) (seṙakan)
Asturian: xenitivu
Azerbaijani: yiyəlik (az)
Basque: genitibo
Belarusian: ро́дны (ródny)
Bulgarian: роди́телен (rodítelen)
Catalan: genitiu (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 所有的 (suǒyǒu de)
Czech: genitivní
Danish: genitiv (da), genitivisk, ejefalds-
Dutch: genitief (nl) m
Estonian: omastav (et)
Finnish: genetiivi- (fi), genetiivinen
French: génitif (fr) m, génitive (fr) f
Galician: xenitivo m
Georgian: გენიტივი (geniṭivi), ნათესაობითი (ka) (natesaobiti)
German: genitivisch (de), genetivisch m (rare)
Greek: γενική (el) (genikí)
Ancient: γενική (genikḗ)
Hebrew: יחס הקניין / יַחַס הַקִּנְיָן m (yákhas ha-kinyán)
Hungarian: birtokos (hu)
Indonesian: genitif (id)
Icelandic: eignarfalls- (is) (in compounds)
Irish: ginideach (ga)
Japanese: 生格 (ja) (せいかく, seikaku) (for Slavic), 属格 (ja) (ぞっかく, zokkaku)
Kazakh: ілік (ılık)
Kyrgyz: илик (ky) (ilik)
Latin: genetīvus (la)
Latvian: ģenitīvs (lv)
Malay: genitif
Mirandese: genitibo
Old English: ġeāgniġendlīċ, ġestrīenendlīċ
Papiamentu: genitivo
Persian: اضافه (fa) (ezâfe)
Polish: dopełniacz (pl)
Portuguese: genitivo (pt)
Romanian: genitiv (ro)
Russian: роди́тельный (ru) (rodítelʹnyj)
Scottish Gaelic: ginideach
Slovak: genitívny
Slovene: rodilniški
Spanish: genitivo (es)
Swedish: genitiv (sv)
Turkish: tamlayan (tr)
Ukrainian: родо́ви́й (uk) (rodóvýj)
Venetian: genitivo
Welsh: genidol

Noun

genitive (countable and uncountable, plural genitives) (grammar)

(countable, uncountable) Short for genitive case (“a grammatical case used to express a relationship of origin or possession”).
- 1669, J[ohn] M[ilton], “Of Cases”, in Accedence Commenc’t Grammar, […], to Attain the Latin Tongue; […], London: […] S[amuel] Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 3:
  Nounes, Pronounes, and Participles are declin'd vvith ſix Endings, vvhich are called Caſes, both in the Singular and Plural Number. The Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accuſative, Vocative, and Ablative. […] The Genitive is Engliſht vvith this Sign of, as Libri of a Book.
(countable) A word inflected in the genitive case, and which thus indicates origin or possession.
- 1669, J[ohn] M[ilton], “Of Nouns”, in Accedence Commenc’t Grammar, […], to Attain the Latin Tongue; […], London: […] S[amuel] Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 5:
  This one vvord familia joyn'd vvith pater, mater, filius, or filia, endeth the Genitive in as, as pater familias, but ſomtimes familiæ.
- 1894, Adolf Erman, “Nouns”, in James Henry Breasted, transl., Egyptian Grammar […], London; Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate, […], →OCLC, § 122*, page 49:
  This older kind of genetive [i.e., the direct genetive] is apparently expressed only by the position of the two substantives, in which the governing word stands before the governed:
  
  pr i̓mn "House of Amon."