elatives

Noun (1)

elative (plural elatives)

1. 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”).

Noun (2)

elative (plural elatives)

1. 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".

See all 3 meanings of elative