dative absolute

noun

in Old English

OriginLatin dativus absolutus →
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Meanings

noundative absolute (plural datives absolute or dative absolutes)

plural datives absolute · plural dative absolutes

  1. an independent phrase in a sentence conveying additional circumstances in the dative case; present:
    1. grammarin Old English
    2. grammarit has been continued by Modern English but at some point became the nominative absolute
    3. grammarin Old High German
    4. grammarin Middle Dutch less frequently than the genitive absolute
    5. grammarin Old Norse
    6. grammarin Gothic
    7. grammarin Old Church Slavonic
    8. grammarin Old East Slavic and due to Old Church Slavonic influence in Russian as late as the 18th century
    9. grammarin Lithuanian and Latvian

Origin

  1. Latindativus absolutus
  2. Englishdative absolute

Calque of Latin dativus absolutus.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

dative absolute. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dative%20absolute

MLA

“dative absolute.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dative%20absolute. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dative absolute,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dative%20absolute.

Source: dative absolute on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.