genitive

adjective

gen·​i·​tive ˈje-nə-tiv 

1

: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case (see case entry 1 sense 3a) that typically marks a person or thing that possesses someone or something else or the source from which someone or something comes compare possessive

2

: expressing a relationship that in some inflected languages is often marked by a genitive case

—used especially of English prepositional phrases introduced by of

genitive noun

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin genetivus, genitivus, literally, of generation (erroneous translation of Greek genikos genitive), from genitus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing genitive

• double genitive

Kids Definition

genitive

adjective

gen·​i·​tive ˈjen-ət-iv 

: of, relating to, or being a grammatical case marking typically possession or source compare possessive

genitival

ˌjen-ə-ˈtī-vəl

adjective

genitive noun