Etymology

elative

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Today it means: In Semitic languages, the “adjective degree of superiority”. In some languages such as Arabic, the concepts of comparative and superlative degree of an adjective are merged into a single form, the elative. How this form is understood or translated depends upon context and definiteness. In the absence of comparison, the elative conveys the notion of “greatest”, “supreme.” Full definition →

Latin ēlātus
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elative · noun, adjective1

  1. Latin · derived fromēlātus“exalted, lofty, high”
  2. English todayelative

From Latin ēlātus (“exalted, lofty, high”) + -ive. Possibly borrowed from German, which has produced a great deal of pioneering Semitist literature, and where Elativ is a common term for absolute superlative in all languages.

elative · noun2

  1. Latin · derived fromēlātus
  2. English todayelative

From Latin ēlātus, perfect past participle of efferō (“to carry out or away”)

Words from the same roots

Latinēlātus all →

elatedelate

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.