elative
UK/ɪˈleɪtɪv/
elative noun: in Semitic languages, the “adjective degree of superiority”. In some languages such as Arabic, the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an adjective are merged into a single form, the elative. How this form is understood or translated depends upon context and definiteness. In the absence of comparison, the elative conveys the notion of “greatest”, “supreme.”.
Noun (1)
elative (plural elatives)
- In Semitic languages, the “adjective degree of superiority”. In some languages such as Arabic, the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an adjective are merged into a single form, the elative. How this form is understood or translated depends upon context and definiteness. In the absence of comparison, the elative conveys the notion of “greatest”, “supreme.”
- The elative of كَبِير (kabīr, “big”) is أَكْبَر (ʔakbar, “bigger/biggest, greater/greatest”).
Adjective
elative (not comparable)
- Exalted; feeling elation.
- And so the fleas, and flies in their degree, / By their attracted moyst humiditie, / Drawne from a certaine vertue elatiue, / Whence raine his generation doth deriue: / Seeke more than their accustom'd nutriment.1595, Thomas Lodge, A fig for Momus
- Thither shall gratitude's feelings elative wend, / Bath'd in the dew of the soul's lofty swelling.1838, James Struthers, Poetic Tales, page 125
Noun (2)
elative (plural elatives)
- In Finno-Ugric languages, one of the locative cases, expressing “out of,” or “from” as in Finnish talosta, Hungarian házból (“out of the house”). Its opposite is the illative case (“into”). In Finnish, the case form is used also to express "out of" or "proximity" in a figurative sense which in English is often conveyed by the word "about".
elative meaning in Arabic
elative in Arabic
- elative degree of an adjective
- اِسْم تَفْضِيل ism tafḍīl
Examples of elative in a sentence
- M., 37 years of age, laborer, who on admission was elative, over-talkative, had a well marked feeling of well being.1910 May, David Henderson, “The Diagnosis of Brain Syphilis”, in State Hospital Bullitens, volume III, number 1, [New York] State...
- whereas if one thinks instead that it is inflicted by others, then the elative feeling is one of masochism, which is quite rightly deemed a disease.1984, Richard Taylor, Good and Evil: A New Direction: a Forceful Attack on the Rationalistic Tradition in Ethics, page 242:
Forms of elative
| plural | elatives |
|---|
Origin of elative
From Latin ēlātus (“exalted, lofty, high”) + -ive. Possibly borrowed from German, which has produced a great deal of pioneering Semitist literature, and where Elativ is a common term for absolute superlative in all languages.
From Latin ēlātus, perfect past participle of efferō (“to carry out or away”)
Phrases with elative
Words that rhyme with elative
- native
- dative
- creative
- translative
- equative
- illative
- collative
- induplicative
- innative
- optative
- prolative
- stative
18 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about elative
- What does elative mean?
- Elative means in Semitic languages, the “adjective degree of superiority”. In some languages such as Arabic, the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an adjective are merged into a single form, the elative. How this form is understood or translated depends upon context and definiteness. In the absence of comparison, the elative conveys the notion of “greatest”, “supreme.”.
- What is elative in Arabic?
- Elative in Arabic is اِسْم تَفْضِيل (ism tafḍīl). See Elative meaning in Arabic.
- How do you use elative in a sentence?
- M., 37 years of age, laborer, who on admission was elative, over-talkative, had a well marked feeling of well being.
- What part of speech is elative?
- Elative can be a noun or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce elative?
- Elative is pronounced /ɪˈleɪtɪv/ (UK).
- What is the plural of elative?
- The plural of elative is elatives.
Words near elative in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: elative (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “elative.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/elative. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.