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ablative

ab·la·tive

UK/əˈbleɪ.tɪv/ US/ˈæb.lə.tɪv/ uncommon archaic
adjective (2) noun (1)

adjective

1.

relating to the ablative case

2.

tending to ablate; i.e. to be removed or vaporized at very high temperature

  • “ablative material on a rocket cone”
Similar

noun

1.

the case indicating the agent in passive sentences or the instrument or manner or place of the action described by the verb

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English ablative, ablatife, ablatyf, ablatif, from Old French ablatif (“the ablative case”), from Latin ablātīvus (“expressing removal”), from ablātus (“taken away”), from auferō (“to take away”). The engineering/nautical sense originates from ablate + -ive.

Phrases

  • ablative absolute
  • loose ablative
  • partitive ablative
  • partitive dative
  • partitive genitive

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.