Intransitivus

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A term describing a grammatical form that does not require a direct object to complete its meaning
2. Characterizing verbs that express action without an object on which the action is performed
3. Referring to a category of verbs that stand alone in conveying a complete thought without needing an accompanying noun or pronoun

Etymology: "Intransitivus" is Latin, from "in-" meaning "not" plus "transitivus," the adjective from "transire," "to go across" or "to pass over." The grammatical sense comes from that image of an action passing across from a subject to an object: in "she hit the ball," the action crosses over to the ball, while in "she slept" nothing receives it and the action stays put. The Latin term was used by ancient and medieval grammarians to describe verbs of this kind, and English later borrowed the adjective "intransitive" for the same purpose. Its "transitive" partner, from the same Latin root, follows the same logic, so the two words form a matched pair describing whether an action reaches beyond the verb itself.