Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Relative

Rel′a-tive

(r?l′?-t?v)
,
Adj.
[F.
relatif
, L.
relativus
. See
Relate
.]
1.
Having relation or reference; referring; respecting; standing in connection; pertaining;
as, arguments not
relative
to the subject
.
I’ll have grounds
More
relative
than this.
Shakespeare
2.
Arising from relation; resulting from connection with, or reference to, something else; not absolute.
Every thing sustains both an absolute and a
relative
capacity: an absolute, as it is such a thing, endued with such a nature; and a
relative
, as it is a part of the universe, and so stands in such a relations to the whole.
South.
3.
(Gram.)
Indicating or expressing relation; refering to an antecedent;
as, a
relative
pronoun
.
4.
(Mus.)
Characterizing or pertaining to chords and keys, which, by reason of the identify of some of their tones, admit of a natural transition from one to the other.
Moore (Encyc. of Music).
Relative clause
(Gram.)
,
a clause introduced by a relative pronoun.
Relative term
,
a term which implies relation to, as guardian to ward, matter to servant, husband to wife. Cf.
Correlative
.

Rel′a-tive

,
Noun.
One who, or that which, relates to, or is considered in its relation to, something else; a relative object or term; one of two object or term; one of two objects directly connected by any relation.
Specifically:
(a)
A person connected by blood or affinity; strictly, one allied by blood; a relation; a kinsman or kinswoman.
“Confining our care . . . to ourselves and relatives.”
Bp. Fell.
(b)
(Gram.)
A relative pronoun; a word which relates to, or represents, another word or phrase, called its antecedent;
as, the
relatives
“who”, “which”, “that”
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Relative

REL'ATIVE

,
Adj.
[L. relativus.]
1.
Having relation; respecting. The arguments may be good, but they are not relative to the subject.
2.
Not absolute or existing by itself; considered as belonging to or respecting something else.
Every thing sustains both an absolute and a relative capacity; an absolute, as it is such a thing, endued with such a nature; and a relative, as it is a part of the universe, and so stands in such a relation to the whole.
3.
Incident to man in society; as relative rights and duties.
4.
Particular; positive. [Not in use.]
Relative made, in music, the mode which the composer interweaves with the principal mode in the flow of the harmony.
Relative terms, in logic, terms which imply relation, as guardian and ward; master and servant; husband and wife.
Relative word, in grammar, a word which relates to another word, called its antecedent, or to a sentence or member of a sentence, or to a series of sentences.

REL'ATIVE

,
Noun.
1.
A person connected by blood or affinity; strictly, one allied by blood; a relation; a kinsman or kinswoman.
Confining our care either to ourselves and relatives.
2.
That which has relation to something else.
3.
In grammar, a word which relates to or represents another word, called its antecedent, or to a sentence or member of a sentence, or to a series of sentences, which constitutes its antecedent. 'He seldom lives frugally, who lives by chance.' Here who is the relative, which represents he, the antecedent.
'Judas declared him innocent, which he could not be, had he deceived his disciples.' Here which refers to innocent, an adjective, as its antecedent.
'Another reason that makes me doubt of any innate practical principles is, that I think there cannot any one moral rule be proposed, whereof a man may not justly demand a reason; which would be perfectly ridiculous and absurd, if they were innate, or so much as self-evident, which every innate principle must needs be.'
If we ask the question, what would be ridiculous and absurd, the answer must be, whereof a man may justly demand a reason, and this part of the sentence is the antecedent to which. Self-evident is the antecedent to which, near the close of the sentence.

Definition 2024


relative

relative

English

Adjective

relative (not comparable)

  1. Connected to or depending on something else; comparative.
    • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, BBC Sport:
      For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.
  2. (computing, of a URL, URI, path, or similar) Expressed in relation to another item, rather than in complete form.
    The relative URL /images/pic.jpg, when evaluated in the context of http://example.com/docs/pic.html, corresponds to the absolute URL http://example.com/images/pic.jpg.
  3. (grammar) That relates to an antecedent.
  4. (music) Having the same key but differing in being major or minor.
  5. Relevant; pertinent; related.
    relative to your earlier point about taxes, ...
  6. Capable to be changed by other beings or circumstance; conditional.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related terms

Derived terms

  • relative to

Translations

Noun

relative (plural relatives)

  1. Someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption.
    Why do my relatives always talk about sex?
  2. (linguistics) A type of adjective that inflects like a relative clause, rather than a true adjective, in certain Bantu languages.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:relative

Translations

Related terms

See also

Anagrams


Danish

Adjective

relative

  1. definite and plural of relativ

Esperanto

Adverb

relative

  1. relatively

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʁəlativ/

Adjective

relative

  1. feminine singular of relatif

Anagrams


German

Adjective

relative

  1. inflected form of relativ

Italian

Adjective

relative

  1. feminine plural of relativo

Anagrams


Latin

Adjective

relātīve

  1. vocative masculine singular of relātīvus

References


Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

relative

  1. definite singular of relativ
  2. plural of relativ

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

relative

  1. definite singular of relativ
  2. plural of relativ

Swedish

Adjective

relative

  1. absolute definite natural masculine form of relativ.