Etymology

generative

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Today it means: Having the power of generating, propagating, originating, or producing. Full definition →

Middle English generatyve ← Latin genero ← Proto-Italic *genos
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵénh₁os
  3. Proto-Italic*genos
  4. Latingenus
  5. Latingenero
  6. Middle Englishgeneratyve
  7. English todaygenerative

Inherited from Middle English generatyve. By surface analysis, generate + -ive. Compare French génératif.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.