optative (plural optatives) (grammar) A mood of verbs found in some languages (e.g. Sanskrit, Old Prussian, Tamil, and Ancient Greek, but not English), used to express a wish. (grammar) A verb or expression in the optative mood.
The optative mood (/ ˈɒptətɪv / OP-tə-tiv or / ɒpˈteɪtɪv / op-TAY-tiv; [1] abbreviated opt) is a grammatical mood that indicates a wish or hope regarding a given action. [2] It is a superset of the cohortative mood and is closely related to the subjunctive mood but is distinct from the desiderative mood. English has no morphological optative, but various constructions impute an ...
The meaning of OPTATIVE is of, relating to, or constituting a verbal mood that is expressive of wish or desire.
Define optative. optative synonyms, optative pronunciation, optative translation, English dictionary definition of optative. adj. 1. Expressing a wish or choice. 2. Grammar a. Of, relating to, or being a mood of verbs in some languages, such as Greek, used to express a wish.
47.2 Like the subjunctive, the OPTATIVE mood refers to HYPOTHETICAL actions. The type of hypothetical actions differ from the subjunctive, however, as we see below.
Learn how to use the optative, a category of grammatical mood that expresses a wish, hope, or desire.
Optative Mood We have now learned four moods of Greek verbs: the indicative, infinitive, imperative, and subjunctive. The INDICATIVE mood indicates FACTS about actions or…
What is the etymology of the word optative? optative is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French optatif; Latin optativus.
optative, adj. & n. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English ...