First Known Use: 1939
Dictionary
ergative
adjective er·ga·tive \ˈər-gə-tiv\
Definition of ERGATIVE
: of, relating to, or being a language (as Inuit or Georgian) in which the objects of transitive verbs and subjects of intransitive verbs are typically marked by the same linguistic forms; also : being an inflectional morpheme that typically marks the subject of a transitive verb in an ergative language
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Origin of ERGATIVE
Greek ergatēs worker, from ergon work
Rhymes with ERGATIVE
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