Etymologically
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indicative

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Pronunciation

  • US: /ɪnˈdɪk.ə.tɪv/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English indicatif,[2] borrowed from Middle French indicatif,[3][4][5][6] recorded in French from the 14th century, in Oresme,[3][7] and in Anglo-Norman as indicatif from the 13th century.[8] The French word is from Late Latin indicātīvus (“serving to point out”),[7][3][4] from indicātus, past participle of indicō (“to point out, show”), with the suffix -īvus.[4][6][7] The Shorter Oxford notes that the Latin term translated the Greek grammarians' name for the mood.[9] It has Spanish indicativo and Italian indicativo as cognates.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Grammatical: of the mood of a verb that states a fact.[7][2] The Middle English Dictionary quotes a Latin school grammar of about 1450 listing the moods "indicatyf, jmperatyf, optatyf, coniunctyf, and infinityf".[2] Etymonline dates the word to the mid-15th century,[7] the OED to 1530, in Palsgrave's grammar of French.[3]

Semantic evolution

The word entered English as a term of grammar, the mood whose job is to state a fact rather than a wish, a supposition or a command.[7][2] From 1530 it was also a noun naming that mood.[3][4] The general sense "that points out or suggests" followed in 1624, and "suggestive of", with of, in 1665;[3] Johnson (1755) gave both the general sense and the grammatical one.[10] In the 20th century it gained a technical use in economics and finance for a price or offer that is not fixed but serves as a guide (1922).[3] The OED notes that the pronunciation with stress on the first syllable, /ˈɪndɪkeɪtɪv/, is often heard in the general sense, as Smart recorded in 1836.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1450 – the indicative mood, in a Latin grammar.[2]
  • 1530 – adjective and noun, the indicative mood, in Palsgrave.[3]
  • 1624 – that indicates or suggests.[3]
  • 1651 – of a statement: having its verb in the indicative.[3]
  • 1665 – indicative of, suggestive of.[3]
  • 1922 – economics: of a price or offer that serves as a guide.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Serving as a sign or indication of something; suggestive: The empty shelves were indicative of a poor harvest.[11][4][3]
  2. (grammar) Of or being the mood of a verb used to make plain statements of fact or to ask questions, as opposed to the subjunctive or imperative.[11][4][12]
  3. (economics) Of a price or offer: not fixed, but given as a guide.[3]

Noun

  1. (grammar) The indicative mood, or a verb form in it: In "she sings", the verb is in the indicative.[11][4][3]

Word family

  • indicatively
  • unindicative

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  9. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  12. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin