dative
pronunciation
How to pronounce dative in British English:
UK [ˈdeɪtɪv]
How to pronounce dative in American English:
US [ˈdetɪv]
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- Noun:
- the category of nouns serving as the indirect object of a verb
Word Origin
- dative (adj.)
- mid-15c., from Latin dativus "pertaining to giving," from datus "given" (see date (n.1)); in grammatical use from Greek dotike (ptosis) "dative (case)," from dotikos "of giving nature," from dotos "given," from PIE root *do- "to give," from the same PIE root as the Latin word. In law, "that may be disposed of at pleasure," from 1530s. Typically the case of the indirect object, but sometimes also denoting "motion toward." In old Germanic languages, the "fourth case," catch-all for Indo-European dative, ablative, locative, and other cases.
Example
- 1. In latin , several verbs govern the dative .
- 2. Most of the time , a periphrastic construction with a dative of agent will be very cumbersome to translate in to english .