genitive
2 synonyms for genitive, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adj — (grammar) Describing the case of a word that shows where something comes from or who owns it, marked by word endings in languages like Latin, and usually shown by word order or 'of'/apostrophe-s in English.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. adj
(grammar) Describing the case of a word that shows where something comes from or who owns it, marked by word endings in languages like Latin, and usually shown by word order or 'of'/apostrophe-s in English.
“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.”
Etymology
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English genetif (“pertaining to the genitive case; pertaining to the generation of offspring”) + 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 ge...
Full origin of genitive →