adoptive
/əˈdɒptɪv/uh-DAHP-tiv
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked/əˈdɑptɪv/uh-DAHP-tiv
Meaningby adopting
Common meaning: related by adoption
Tap a word part to explore
- adto, towards
- optto choose, wishLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1273 · scan
- iveadjective ending: tending to
‘to, towards’ + ‘to choose, wish’ → adoptive
Journey through time
- Proto-Indo-European*ap-‘seize, attain, bind’source
- Latinoptō‘to choose, wish’
- Englishadopt‘to choose and take up, e.g. a child or a plan’
- Englishformed in English from adoptadoptive‘related by adoption’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from adopt + -ive.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), ADOPT, p.9 · scan
Roots
- optō Latin “to choose, wish”
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