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ergative

 - 3 dictionary results

er⋅ga⋅tive

  [ur-guh-tiv]
Use ergative in a Sentence
–adjective
1. Grammar.
a. (in certain languages, as Basque, Eskimo, and some Caucasian languages) noting a case that indicates the subject of a transitive verb and is distinct from the case indicating the subject of an intransitive verb.
b. similar to such a case in function or meaning, esp. in indicating an agent, as the subject She in She opened the door, in contrast to the subject The door in The door opened.
2. Linguistics. pertaining to a type of language that has an ergative case or in which the direct object of a transitive verb has the same form as the subject of an intransitive verb. Compare accusative (def. 2).
–noun Grammar.
3. the ergative case.
4. a word in the ergative case.
5. a form or construction of similar function or meaning.
Origin:
1945–50; < Gk ergát(ēs) worker (see ergate ) + -ive

Related forms:
er⋅ga⋅tiv⋅i⋅ty, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ergative
er·ga·tive   (ûr'gə-tĭv)   
adj.  

  1. Of or relating to a language, such as Georgian, in which the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb is expressed by one grammatical case, and the subject of a transitive verb is expressed by another.

  2. Of or relating to the grammatical case of the subject of a transitive verb in such a language.

n.  

  1. The ergative case.

  2. An ergative inflection.

  3. A nominal having an ergative form.


[From Greek ergatēs, worker, from ergon, work; see werg- in Indo-European roots.]
er'ga·tiv'i·ty n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

ergative 
1943, grammatical case used for the subjects of transitive verbs (in Eskimo, Basque, Caucasian languages), from Gk. ergatos "workman."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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