I. ˈabləd.iv, -ətiv adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French ablatif, from Latin ablativus, from ablatus + -ivus -ive
1. of a grammatical case : expressing typically the relations of separation and source (as L metu in liberari metu “to be freed from fear”; L ea familia in ea familia ortus “descended from that family”) and also frequently especially in Latin such relations as cause (as L gaudio in exsilire gaudio “to jump for joy”), instrument (as L pugnis in certare pugnis “to fight with fists”), time (as L constituta die “on the appointed day”), place (as L media urbe “in the middle of the city”), accordance (as L meo modo “in my fashion”), specification (as L altero pede in claudus altero pede “lame in one foot”), difference by comparison (as L Ennio in veracior Ennio “more truthful than Ennius”), difference in measure (as L annis in aliquot ante annis “several years before”), or price (as L pecunia in regna addicere pecunia “to sell kingdoms for money”) — used especially in the grammar of Latin, Sanskrit, Hungarian, and Finnish
2. : of or belonging to the ablative case
an ablative suffix
II. noun
( -s )
: the ablative case or a form in it
III. “, (ˈ)a|blā- adjective
Etymology: ablate + -ive
: tending to ablate
ablative material on a rocket nose cone