relative
/ˈɹelətɪv/REH-luh-tiv
/ˈɹɛlətɪv/REH-luh-tiv
Meaningtending to carry back
Common meaning: a family member
Other meanings: compared with something else
- reagain; back
- latcarried, borneLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1039 · scan
- iveadjective ending: tending to
‘again’ + ‘carried, borne’ → relative
Journey through time
- Latinlātus (past part. of ferō)‘carried, borne’
- Frenchrelater
- Englishrelate‘to tell’
- Englishformed in English from relaterelative‘a family member’ · 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 relate + -ive.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), RELATE, p.499 · scan
Roots
- lātus (past part. of ferō) Latin “carried, borne”
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