relative to

[rel-uh-tiv]

rel·a·tive

[rel-uh-tiv]
noun
1.
a person who is connected with another or others by blood or marriage.
2.
something having, or standing in, some relation to something else.
3.
something dependent upon external conditions for its specific nature, size, etc. (opposed to absolute).
4.
Grammar. a relative pronoun, adjective, or adverb.
adjective
5.
considered in relation to something else; comparative: the relative merits of democracy and monarchy.
6.
existing or having its specific nature only by relation to something else; not absolute or independent: Happiness is relative.
7.
having relation or connection.
8.
having reference or regard; relevant; pertinent (usually followed by to): to determine the facts relative to an accident.
9.
correspondent; proportionate: Value is relative to demand.
EXPAND
10.
(of a term, name, etc.) depending for significance upon something else: “Better” is a relative term.
11.
Grammar.
a.
noting or pertaining to a word that introduces a subordinate clause of which it is, or is a part of, the subject or predicate and that refers to an expressed or implied element of the principal clause (the antecedent), as the relative pronoun who in He's the man who saw you or the relative adverb where in This is the house where she was born.
b.
noting or pertaining to a relative clause.
COLLAPSE

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Relative to is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English relatif (noun) (< Middle French ) < Late Latin relātīvus (adj.); see relate, -ive

non·rel·a·tive, noun, adjective
non·rel·a·tive·ly, adverb
non·rel·a·tive·ness, noun
un·rel·a·tive, adjective
un·rel·a·tive·ly, adverb


11. See who.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To relative to
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

relative to

Correspondent or proportionate to, as in Relative to its size, Boston has a great many universities, or It's important to get all the facts relative to the collision. Another form of this idiom is in or with relation to, meaning "in reference or with regard to," as in Demand is high in relation to supply, or That argument changes nothing with relation to our plans for hiring workers. The usages with relative date from the second half of the 1700s, those with relation from the late 1500s.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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