I. ˈäptəd.iv, -ətiv; (ˈ)äp|tād.iv, -ātiv adjective
Etymology: Middle French optatif, from Late Latin optativus, from Latin optatus + -ivus -ive
1.
a. : of, relating to, characterizing, or being a mood of verbs in Greek and other languages that is expressive of wish or desire and various related distinctions
b. : characterizing or being a sentence that is expressive of wish or hope and marked as optative by the subjunctive mood and by word order (as in Heaven help him )
2. : expressing desire or wish
• op·ta·tive·ly -d.ə̇vlē, -tə̇v-, -li adverb
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : the optative mood
b. : a verb or verbal form denoting the optative mood
2. : something to be desired