I. ˈdād.]iv, -āt], ]ēv also ]əv adjective
Etymology: Middle English datif, from Latin dativus, from datus (past participle of dare to give) + -ivus -ive — more at date
1.
[Latin dativus, translation of Greek dotikos ]
a. of a grammatical case : marking typically the indirect object of a verb (as Latin mihi in da mihi panem “give me bread” or German ihm in sie gaben ihm wein “they gave him wine”), the only object of any one of a limited group of verbs (as German mir in er hilft mir “he helps me”), the object of any of certain prepositions (as German mir in mit mir “with me” or ihr in zu ihr “to her”), or a possessor (as German ihr in er küsst ihr die hand “he kisses her hand”)
b. of a word or word group : standing in any grammatical or semantic relation (as indirect object) that in certain inflected languages is characteristically marked by a dative case form even when this relation is not marked by any inflectional element (as his son in “he gave his son a dog”) — not now used technically
c. : of or relating to the dative case
a dative ending
2.
a. : capable of being disposed of as one wishes
a dative office
b.
[Medieval Latin dativus, from Latin]
of an officer : removable — distinguished from perpetual
c. : given or appointed and not cast by law upon a person or group ; specifically : given or appointed by a magistrate or court or having to do with such an appointment
3. of chemical bonds : formed by contribution of a pair of electrons by one atom
• da·tive·ly ]ˈə̇vlē, -li\ adverb
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin dativus, from dativus, adjective; translation of Greek dotikē (ptōsis)
: the dative case of a language or a dative form