genitive

Syllables: gen·it·ive/ˈd͡ʒɛnɪtɪv/US/ˈd͡ʒɛnətɪv/

genitive adjective: of a grammatical case: in an inflected language (such as Greek or Latin), expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor; and in an uninflected language (such as English), expressing origin or possession; possessive. Also the ellipsis of genitive case.

Adjective

genitive (not comparable)

Of a grammatical case: in an inflected language (such as Greek or Latin), expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor; and in an uninflected language (such as English), expressing origin or possession; possessive.
- dependent genitive
- independent genitive
Of, pertaining to, or used in the genitive case.
(archaic) Of or pertaining to the generation of offspring; generative, procreative, reproductive.

Synonyms:

progenitive

Noun

genitive (countable and uncountable, plural genitives)

(countable) A word inflected in the genitive case, and which thus indicates origin or possession.
- This one vvord familia joyn'd vvith pater, mater, filius, or filia, endeth the Genitive in as, as pater familias, but ſomtimes familiæ.1669, J[ohn] M[ilton], “Of Nouns”, in Accedence Commenc’t Grammar, […], to Attain the Latin Tongue; […], London: […] S[amuel] Simmons, […], →OCLC, page 5
- This older kind of genetive [i.e., the direct genetive] is apparently expressed only by the position of the two substantives, in which the governing word stands before the governed: pr:Z1-i-mn:n-A40 pr i̓mn "House of Amon."1894, Adolf Erman, “Nouns”, in James Henry Breasted, transl., Egyptian Grammar […], London; Edinburgh: Williams and Norgate, […], →OCLC, § 122*, page 49

Also used as

genitive is also the ellipsis of genitive case.

genitive meaning in Arabic, Malay, Indonesian and Persian

genitive in Arabic

of a grammatical case: expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor, or expressing origin or possession; of, pertaining to, or used in the genitive case: إِضَافِيّ ʔiḍāfiyy, جَرِّيّ jarriyy, خَفْضِيّ ḵafḍiyy

genitive in Malay

of a grammatical case: expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor, or expressing origin or possession; of, pertaining to, or used in the genitive case: genitif

genitive in Indonesian

of a grammatical case: expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor, or expressing origin or possession; of, pertaining to, or used in the genitive case: genitif

genitive in Persian

of a grammatical case: expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor, or expressing origin or possession; of, pertaining to, or used in the genitive case: اضافه ezâfe

Examples of genitive in a sentence

The student who had taken a German exam realised his error afterwards. He had used the dative case instead of the genitive case to show possession.
Two kinds of genitive: All nouns have a genitive form, but pronouns have two of them.2024, Geoffrey K. Pullum, The Truth About English Grammar, Polity Press, →ISBN, pages 38-39:

All 10 example sentences with genitive

Synonyms of genitive

progenitive

Forms of genitive

Adjective
alternative form (archaic)	genetive
Noun
plural	genitives

Origin of genitive

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English genetif (“pertaining to the genitive case; pertaining to the generation of offspring”) + English -ive (suffix meaning ‘relating or belonging to’ forming adjectives). Genetif is from Anglo-Norman genetif, genitif, and Middle French genetif, genitif (“pertaining to the generation of offspring, procreative; (grammar) pertaining to the genitive case”) (modern French génitif), and from their etymon Latin genetīvus (“pertaining to the generation of offspring; (grammar) pertaining to the genitive case”) (whence Late Latin genitivus), from genitus (“begotten, engendered; produced”) + -īvus (suffix meaning ‘doing’ or ‘related to doing’ forming adjectives). Genitus is the perfect passive participle of gignō (“to beget, give birth to; to produce, yield”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget, give birth; to produce”). Latin genetīvus cāsus (or cāsus genetīvus, cāsus genitīvus (literally “grammatical case pertaining to birth or origin”)), was used to translate Koine Greek γενῐκή πτῶσις (genĭkḗ ptôsis, literally “inflection expressing a genus or kind”) which actually means “generic case”, though it refers to what is now called...

Words formed from genitive

Phrases with genitive

genitive cases

Questions about genitive

What does genitive mean?: Genitive means of a grammatical case: in an inflected language (such as Greek or Latin), expressing that a thing denoted by a word is related to a thing denoted by another word as its origin or possessor; and in an uninflected language (such as English), expressing origin or possession; possessive.
What is genitive in Arabic?: Genitive in Arabic is إِضَافِيّ (ʔiḍāfiyy), جَرِّيّ (jarriyy), خَفْضِيّ (ḵafḍiyy). See Genitive meaning in Arabic.
How do you use genitive in a sentence?: The student who had taken a German exam realised his error afterwards. He had used the dative case instead of the genitive case to show possession.
What part of speech is genitive?: Genitive can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce genitive?: Genitive is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɛnɪtɪv/ (UK).

Words near genitive in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: genitive (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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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Cite this entry: “genitive.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/genitive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.