Where does “transitive” come from?
Transitive comes from Latin transitivus, formed from the prefix trans- meaning "across" and -ivus, a suffix denoting quality or capability.
transitive (English): Making a transit or passage; Affected by...
Definitions
- Making a transit or passage; Affected by...
Ancestry of “transitive”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | trānsitīvus | transiting passing over |
| 2 | Latin | trānsitus | traversed, passed through |
| 3 | Latin | trānseō | to traverse; cross, cross over; go across or over; pass, pass through, over or by |
| 4 | Latin | trāns | across, beyond |
| 5 | Latin | Padus | the River Po |
| 6 | Lepontic | Bodincus | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰudʰmḗn | bottom |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewbʰ- | deep |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰewh₂- | smoke; mist, haze |
Words derived from “transitive”
- intransitive
- ditransitive
- transitively
- intransitively
- nontransitive
- monotransitive
- transitiveness
- transitivization
- ambitransitive
- transitivize
- intransitivization
- intransitiveness
- nontransitively
- tritransitive
- bitransitive
- supertransitive
- transitivism
- transivitise
- unitransitive
- untransitive
- ambitransitivity
- retransitivize
- intransitivize
- ambitransitively