| Title | optative |
|---|---|
| Text |
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary op·ta·tive \\ˈäp-tə-tiv\\ adjective DATE 15th century 1. a. of, relating to, or constituting a verbal mood that is expressive of wish or desire b. of, relating to, or constituting a sentence that is expressive of wish or hope 2. expressing desire or wish • optative noun • op·ta·tive·ly adverb English Etymology optative 1. A mood expressing wishing. The archaic Heaven forfend would be an example of optative, though unlike some I.E. languages English has no specific markers for this case. 2. grammatical mood expressing wish or desire, 1530, from M.Fr .optatif (15c.), from L.L. optativus, from L. optatus, pp. of optare(see option).http://M.Fr Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged op·ta·tive I. \ˈäptəd.iv, -ətiv; (ˈ)äp|tād.iv, -ātiv\ adjective Etymology: Middle French optatif, from Late Latin optativus, from Latin optatus + -ivus -ive 1. a. : of, relating to, characterizing, or being a mood of verbs in Greek and other languages that is expressive of wish or desire and various related distinctions b. : characterizing or being a sentence that is expressive of wish or hope and marked as optative by the subjunctive mood and by word order (as in Heaven help him) 2. : expressing desire or wish • op·ta·tive·ly \-d.ə̇vlē, -tə̇v-, -li\ adverb II. noun (-s) 1. a. : the optative mood b. : a verb or verbal form denoting the optative mood 2. : something to be desired |
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