Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Productive

Pro-duc′tive

,
Adj.
[F.
productif
, L.
productivus
fit for prolongation.]
1.
Having the quality or power of producing; yielding or furnishing results;
as,
productive
soil;
productive
enterprises;
productive
labor, that which increases the number or amount of products.
2.
Bringing into being; causing to exist; producing; originative;
as, an age
productive
of great men; a spirit
productive
of heroic achievements.
And kindle with thy own
productive
fire.
Dryden.
This is turning nobility into a principle of virtue, and making it
productive
of merit.
Spectator.
3.
Producing, or able to produce, in large measure; fertile; profitable.
Pro-duc′tive-ly
,
adv.
Pro-duc′tive-ness
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition


Productive

PRODUC'TIVE

, a.
1.
Having the power of producing; as, productive labor is that which increases the number or amount of products; opposed to unproductive labor. The labor of the farmer and mechanic is productive; the labor of officers and professional men is unproductive to the state. A tree which bears fruit, and the land which bears grass or grain, is productive.
2.
Fertile; producing good crops. We often denote by this word that land or plants yield large products.
3.
Producing; bringing into being; causing to exist; efficient; as an age productive of great men; a spirit productive of heroic achievements.
This is turning nobility into a principle of virtue,and making it productive of merit.
And kindle with thy own productive fire.

Definition 2024


productive

productive

English

Adjective

productive (comparative more productive, superlative most productive)

  1. Capable of producing something, especially in abundance; fertile.
  2. Yielding good or useful results; constructive.
  3. Of, or relating to the creation of goods or services.
  4. (linguistics, of an affix or word construction rule) Consistently applicable to any of an open set of words.
    • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 138:
      Moreover, this relationship is a productive one, in the sense that when new Adjectives are created (e.g. ginormous concocted out of gigantic and enormous), then the corresponding Adverb form (in this case ginormously) can also be used. And in those exceptional cases where Adverbs do not end in -ly, they generally have the same form as the corresponding Adjective, as with hard, fast, etc.
  5. (medicine) Of a cough, producing mucus or sputum from the respiratory tract.
  6. (medicine) Of inflammation, producing new tissue.
  7. (set theory) A type of set of natural numbers, related to mathematical logic.
    a productive set

Usage notes

In English, the plural suffix “-es” is productive because it can be appended to an open set of words (singular nouns ending in sibilants). Thus, if a new word with that pattern becomes an English noun (e.g. *examplex), it would have a default plural (e.g. *examplexes) because “-es” is productive.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:productive

Antonyms

Related terms

Translations

References

  • productive in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • productive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

French

Adjective

productive

  1. feminine singular of productif

Latin

Pronunciation

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /proː.dukˈtiː.we/, [proː.dʊkˈtiː.wɛ]

Adjective

prōductīve

  1. vocative masculine singular of prōductīvus