Definitions for ergativeˈɜr gə tɪv
Random House Webster's College Dictionary
er•ga•tiveˈɜr gə tɪv(adj.)
of or designating a verb in which the subject of the intransitive construction is also the object of the transitive construction:
The boat capsized. They capsized the boat.
Category: Grammar
of or designating a grammatical case, as in Basque or Georgian, that indicates the subject of a transitive verb and is distinct from the case indicating the subject of an intransitive verb. similar to such a case in function or meaning, esp. in indicating an agent as subject.
Category: Grammar
of or pertaining to a language that has an ergative case or in which the direct object of a transitive verb and the subject of an intransitive verb are paired grammatically by other means.
Category: Language/Linguistics
(n.)an ergative verb.
Category: Grammar
the ergative case.
Category: Grammar
a word in the ergative case.
Category: Grammar
Origin of ergative:
1945–50; < Gk ergát(ēs) worker
er`ga•tiv′i•ty(n.)
Wiktionary
ergative(Noun)
the ergative case
ergative(Noun)
an ergative verb or other expression
ergative(Adjective)
Used of various situations where the subject of transitive constructions have different grammatical cases or thematic relations to those of intransitive constructions.
The case systems of ergative languages are counterintuitive to speakers of Indo-European languages.
Origin: From the , from .
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