sive

See also: sivé, sivè, sivě, Síve, and şive

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from Swedish sipa and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sipōną (“to trickle, flow”).

Verb

sive (imperative [please provide], infinitive at sive, present tense [please provide], past tense [please provide], perfect tense [please provide])

1. flow slowly or slowly leak

Derived terms

• sive ind

Ido

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin sive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ve/

Conjunction

sive

1. either; whether

Antonyms

• nek (“neither”)

Derived terms

• sive ... sive

  whether … or; either … or

Latin

Alternative forms

• seu

Etymology

From older seive, from sei (“if”) +‎ -ve (“or”). Equivalent to sī (“if”) +‎ -ve (“or”). Collateral form seu by apocope.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈsiː.u̯e/, [ˈs̠iːu̯ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.ve/, [ˈsiːve]

Conjunction

sīve

1. on the other hand; but if
2. or
   • 1677, Baruch Spinoza, Ethics:

     deus sive natura

     god or nature

   • 1731, Johann Jakob Brucker, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

     Otium Vindelicum sive Meletematum Historico-philosophicorum Triga

     Augsburg Idleness, or, a Triga of Historico-Philosophical Essays

3. whether … or … (sive … sive …)

Usage notes

• May be used as a correlative, sive… sive… to function as in English whether… or…

Antonyms

• nēve, neu

References

• “sive”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sive”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• seu in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2025), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• "sive", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• sive in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• syve
• syfe, syffe (Northern)
• ceve, cyve, seve (Late Middle English)
• sife (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English sife, from Proto-West Germanic *sibi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsiv(ə)/, (Late Middle English also) /ˈseːv(ə)/

Noun

sive (plural sives)

1. sieve, riddle, sile (a device for sifting)

   Synonym: temse

2. (rare) The amount that fits in a sieve.

Descendants

• English: sieve
• Middle Scots: siffe, syffe, sif, syf
  • Scots: sieve

References

• “sive, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-12-19.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• siva (a infinitive)

Verb

sive (present tense siv or siver, past tense seiv or sivde, supine sive or sivd/sivt, past participle siven or sivd, present participle sivande, imperative siv)

1. (intransitive) to seep, ooze
2. (intransitive) to leak

References

• “sive” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Serbo-Croatian

Adjective

sive

1. inflection of siv:
   1. masculine accusative plural
   2. feminine genitive singular
   3. feminine nominative/accusative/vocative plural

Swazi

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

síve class 7 (plural tíve class 8)

1. nation
2. nationality
3. foreigner

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Tarantino

Adjective

sive

1. dirty