possessive
/pəˈzɛs.ɪv/ adjective, noun
Forms possessives
- adjective Of or pertaining to ownership or possession.
- adjective (grammar) Indicating ownership, possession, origin, etc.
- adjective Unwilling to yield possession of. “He is very possessive of his car.”
- noun (grammar) The possessive case.
- noun (grammar) A word used to indicate the possessive case.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle French possessif, from Latin possessivus (“of or pertaining to possession”), from possessiō (“possessing”), from possidēre (“to possess”). By surface analysis, possess + -ive.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of or pertaining to possession; having or indicating possession. Possessive case (Eng. Gram.), the genitive case; the case of nouns and pronouns which expresses ownership, origin, or some possessive relation of one thing to another; as, Homer's admirers; the pear's flavor; the dog's faithfulness.
- noun The possessive case.
- noun A possessive pronoun, or a word in the possessive case.
Etymology [L. possessivus: cf. F. possessif.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “possessive”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details