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ergative
[ur-guh-tiv]
adjective
Grammar.
(in certain languages, as Basque, Inuit, and some Caucasian languages) noting a case that indicates the subject of a transitive verb and is distinct from the case indicating the subject of an intransitive verb.
similar to such a case in function or meaning, especially in indicating an agent, as the subject She in She opened the door, in contrast to the subject The door in The door opened.
Linguistics.pertaining to a type of language that has an ergative case or in which the direct object of a transitive verb has the same form as the subject of an intransitive verb.
noun
the ergative case.
a word in the ergative case.
a form or construction of similar function or meaning.
ergative
/ ˈɜːɡəɪ /
adjective
denoting a type of verb that takes the same noun as either direct object or as subject, with equivalent meaning. Thus, "fuse" is an ergative verb: "He fused the lights" and "The lights fused" have equivalent meaning
denoting a case of nouns in certain languages, for example, Inuktitut or Basque, marking a noun used interchangeably as either the direct object of a transitive verb or the subject of an intransitive verb
denoting a language that has ergative verbs or ergative nouns
noun
an ergative verb
an ergative noun or case of nouns
Other Word Forms
- ergativity noun
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of ergative1
Example Sentences
Other exceptions to Chomsky’s theory came from the study of “ergative” languages, such as Basque or Urdu, in which the way a sentence subject is used is very different from that in many European languages, again challenging the idea of a universal grammar.
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