Dictionary
gen•i•tive
Pronunciation: ( jen'i-tiv), [key] Gram.
—
adj.
1. (in certain inflected languages) noting a case of nouns, pronouns, or adjectives, used primarily to express possession, measure, or origin: as
John's hat,
week's vacation,
duty's call.
2. noting an affix or other element characteristic of this case, or a word containing such an element.
3. similar to such a case form in function or meaning.
—
n.
1. the genitive case.
2. a word in the genitive case.
3. a construction noting this case or the relationship usually expressed by it. Cf.
possessive.Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.