optative

English

Alternative forms

• (abbreviation, grammar): opt.

Etymology

From Middle French optatif, from Late Latin optātīvus, a calque of Ancient Greek εὐκτική (euktikḗ, “related to wishing”), from Latin optātus, past participle of optāre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɒptətɪv/, /ɒpˈteɪtɪv/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: op‧ta‧tive
• Rhymes: -eɪtɪv

Adjective

optative (not comparable)

1. Expressing a wish or a choice.
   • a. 1662 (date written), Thomas Fuller, The History of the Worthies of England, London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond,] W[illiam] L[eybourne] and W[illiam] G[odbid], published 1662, →OCLC:

     an optative blessing

   • 1996, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest […], Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 64:

     […] then, in the optative retirement from hard science that building and opening a U.S.T.A-accredited and pedagogically experimental tennis academy apparently represented for him […]

2. (grammar) Related or pertaining to the optative mood.

Related terms

• cooptative

Translations

expressing a wish

• Greek:

  Ancient: εὐκτικός (euktikós)

• Polish: życzeniowy (pl)

pertaining to the optative mood

• Albanian: dëshirore (sq)
• Bulgarian: желателен (bg) (želatelen)
• Esperanto: optativo (eo)
• Finnish: optatiivinen
• Greek:

  Ancient: εὐκτικός (euktikós)

• Hungarian: óhajtó (hu)
• Italian: ottativo (it)
• Korean: 원망법 (wonmangbeop)
• Old English: ġewȳsċendlīċ
• Polish: życzący
• Vietnamese: thức mong mỏi

Noun

optative (plural optatives)

1. (grammar) A mood of verbs found in some languages (e.g. Sanskrit, Old Prussian, and Ancient Greek, but not English), used to express a wish.
2. (grammar) A verb or expression in the optative mood.

Derived terms

• optatively

Translations

optative

• Azerbaijani: arzu şəkli
• Esperanto: optativo (eo)
• Finnish: optatiivi (fi)
• French: optatif (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Optativ (de), Wunschform (de)
• Greek: ευκτική (el) f (efktikí)

  Ancient: εὐκτική f (euktikḗ)

• Hungarian: optativus, óhajtó mód
• Icelandic: óskháttur m
• Italian: ottativo (it) m
• Korean: 원망법 (wonmangbeop)
• Old English: ġewȳsċendlīċ
• Polish: tryb życzący m
• Portuguese: optativo (pt) m
• Spanish: optativo (es) m
• Swedish: optativ c
• Turkish: istek kipi (tr)

See also

• subjunctive

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

optative

1. feminine singular of optatif

Latin

Adjective

optātīve

1. vocative masculine singular of optātīvus