Ablatives

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A grammatical case used in various languages to express separation, cause, or instrumentality, often indicating the means by which an action occurs
2. Instances of such a case used to convey relationships between nouns or phrases, particularly in Latin and other inflected languages
3. Plural forms referring to elements within syntax that denote functions such as source, cause, or means, highlighting their roles in complex sentence structures

Etymology: "Ablatives" is simply the plural of "ablative", the name of a grammatical case used in Latin and other inflected languages to mark the point from which something moves: "away from", "out of", or "by means of". The name itself comes from Latin "ablātīvus", meaning "expressing removal", built on "ablātus", "taken away", the past participle of "auferō", "to take away". The Latin term is a translation of a Greek grammatical term, and the English name keeps that sense of carrying something off. The word reached English through Old French "ablatif", "the ablative case", and entered Middle English in its "ablative" and "ablatif" spellings. Because grammarians named the case for its removal sense, the label outlived most of the endings it once described in English-speaking classrooms, where it now mainly shows up in discussions of Latin and Sanskrit.