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ablative

[ab-luh-tiv]

adjective

(in some inflected languages) noting a case that has among its functions the indication of place from which or, as in Latin, place in which, manner, means, instrument, or agent.

noun

the ablative case.

a word in that case, as Troiā in Latin Aenēas Troiā vēnit, “Aeneas came from Troy.”

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ablative is always a great word to know.

So is pound sign. Does it mean:

the symbol (#) used for various purposes.

a symbol (∼) indicating equivalency or similarity between two values.

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Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin ablātīvus. See ablate, -ive

Related forms

ab·la·ti·val

[ab-luh-tahy-vuhl] , adjective

Example Sentences

The golf ball is covered with a ablative material which is heated by the solar wind it is plowing through.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

adjective

capable of or susceptible to ablation; tending to ablate: the ablative nose cone of a rocket.

Origin:
1560–70; ablate + -ive

Related forms

ab·la·tive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Ablative

Collins

World English Dictionary

ablative (ˈæblətɪv)

—*adj*
1.	(in certain inflected languages such as Latin) denoting a case of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives indicating the agent in passive sentences or the instrument, manner, or place of the action described by the verb

—n
2.	a. the ablative case
	b. a word or speech element in the ablative case
3.	taking away or removing: ablative surgery
4.	able to disintegrate or be worn away at a very high temperature: a thick layer of ablative material

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

ablative

mid-15c., from M.Fr. ablatif, from L. (casus) ablativus "(case) of removal," expressing direction from a place or time, coined by Julius Caesar from ablatus "taken away," pp. of auferre "carrying away," from ab- "away" + irregular verb ferre (pp. latum; see oblate) "to carry, to bear" (see infer).

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