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optative

op·ta·tive

UK/ˈɒptətɪv/ US/ɒpˈteɪtɪv/ uncommon
adjective (2) noun (1)

adjective

1.

indicating an option or wish

2.

relating to a mood of verbs in some languages

  • “optative verb endings”

noun

1.

a mood (as in Greek or Sanskrit) that expresses a wish or hope; expressed in English by modal verbs

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle French optatif, from Late Latin optātīvus, a calque of Ancient Greek εὐκτική (euktikḗ, “related to wishing”), from Latin optātus, past participle of optāre.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Pertaining to

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.