par·ti·tive (pär t -tv)adj. 1. Dividing or serving to divide something into parts; marked by division. 2. Grammar Indicating a part as distinct from a whole, as some of the coffee in the sentence She drank some of the coffee. n. Grammar 1. A partitive word, such as many or less. 2. A partitive construction or case. [Middle English, from Old French partitif, from Medieval Latin part  tvus, from Latin parttus, past participle of partre, to divide; see partite.]par ti·tive·ly adv. |
partitive [ˈpɑːtɪtɪv]
adj
1. (Linguistics / Grammar) Grammar indicating that a noun involved in a construction refers only to a part or fraction of what it otherwise refers to. The phrase some of the butter is a partitive construction; in some inflected languages it would be translated by the genitive case of the noun
2. serving to separate or divide into parts
n
(Linguistics / Grammar) Grammar a partitive linguistic element or feature
[from Medieval Latin partītīvus serving to divide, from Latin partīre to divide]
partitively adv
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. | partitive - word (such a `some' or `less') that is used to indicate a part as distinct from a whole word - a unit of language that native speakers can identify; "words are the blocks from which sentences are made"; "he hardly said ten words all morning" |
| Adj. | 1. | partitive - (Romance languages) relating to or denoting a part of a whole or a quantity that is less than the whole; "a partitive construction" |
| 2. | partitive - indicating or characterized by or serving to create partition or division into parts; "partitive tendencies in education" | |
| 3. | partitive - serving to separate or divide into parts; "partitive tendencies in education"; "the uniting influence was stronger than the separative" disjunctive - serving or tending to divide or separate |
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