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partitive

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Etymology and origin of the English word partitive

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1398 Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus More words from the 14th century
Borrowed from
Latin partitivus via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin pars

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈpɑː.tə.tɪv/[1]
  • US: /ˈpɑɹ.tə.tɪv/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English partitif, also spelled partitive,[2] borrowed from Medieval Latin partītīvus (“relating to division into parts”),[3][2][4][5] formed from Latin partītus (“divided”), the past participle of partiō (“to divide”), with the suffix -īvus.[3][6][7][8] The verb comes from pars (“a part, piece, share”),[6] which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *pere- (“to grant, allot”).[6] The OED notes that the Medieval Latin word was used in grammar and logic in British sources from the 13th century, including the passage of about 1230–50 that the first English quotation translates.[3] Barnhart adds Middle French partitif as a second source,[9] but the OED dates the French word only to 1550 (about 1380 as partitis).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In grammar, of words that refer only to part of a whole: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus, which calls adjectival nouns such as aliquis and alius partitive.[3][2][9] A Middle English grammar of about 1450 also has the spelling partytyf.[2][9]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed a grammatical term for most of its history: the noun, a partitive word or construction, follows in 1530, in Palsgrave's French grammar.[3][9] Only in 1912 is it recorded in the general sense "dividing into parts, marked by division".[3][4] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records its use for a grammatical case, as in Finnish, that marks part of something.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1398 – in grammar, denoting only part of a whole.[3][2]
  • c. 1450 – spelled partytyf.[2][9]
  • 1530 – noun, a partitive word or construction.[3][9]
  • 1912 – dividing into parts; marked by division.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (grammar) Showing that only part of a whole is meant, as in the phrase some of the bread.[5][4][3]
  2. (grammar) Of or being a grammatical case, as in Finnish, that marks part of something.[4]
  3. Serving to divide something into parts; marked by partition.[4][5][3]

Noun

  1. (grammar) A partitive word or construction.[5][4][3]
  2. (grammar) The partitive case, or a word in it.[4]

Word family

  • partitively

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Partitive.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/partitive. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·