Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Relative
1.
Having relation or reference; referring; respecting; standing in connection; pertaining;
as, arguments not
. relative
to the subjectI’ll have grounds
More
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
pronoun4.
(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.
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)
- 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.
- 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, BBC Sport:
- (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.
- (grammar) That relates to an antecedent.
- (music) Having the same key but differing in being major or minor.
- Relevant; pertinent; related.
- relative to your earlier point about taxes, ...
- Capable to be changed by other beings or circumstance; conditional.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Related terms
Derived terms
- relative to
Translations
conditional; depending on something else
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Noun
relative (plural relatives)
- Someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption.
- Why do my relatives always talk about sex?
- (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
someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption
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Related terms
See also
Anagrams
Latin
Adjective
relātīve
- vocative masculine singular of relātīvus
References
- relative in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- RELATIVE in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “relative”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.