comparatives
plural of comparative
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Source: Wiktionary
Com*par"a*tive, a. Etym: [L. comparativus: cf. F. comparatif.]
1. Of or pertaining to comparison. "The comparative faculty." Granvill.
2. Proceeding from, or by the method of, comparison; as, the comparative anatomy.
3. Estimated by comparison; relative; not positive or absolute, as compared with another thing or state. The recurrence of comparative warmth and cold. Whewell. The bubble, by reason of its comparative levity to the fluid that incloses it, would necessarily ascend to the top. Bentley.
4. (Gram.)
Definition: Expressing a degree greater or less than the positive degree of the quality denoted by an adjective or adverb. The comparative degree is formed from the positive by the use of -er, more, or less; as, brighter, more bright, or less bright. Comparative sciences, those which are based on a comprehensive comparison of the range of objects or facts in any branch or department, and which aim to study out and treat of the fundamental laws or systems of relation pervading them; as, comparative anatomy, comparative physiology, comparative philology.
Com*par"a*tive, n. (Gram.)
Definition: The comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs; also, the form by which the comparative degree is expressed; as, stronger, wiser, weaker, wore stormy, less windy, are all comparatives. In comparatives is expressed a relation of two; as in superlatives there is a relation of many.
2. An equal; a rival; a compeer. [Obs.] Gerard ever was His full comparative. Beau. & Fl.
3. One who makes comparisons; one who affects wit. [Obs.] "Every beardless vain comparative." Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
28 November 2024
(noun) the fusion of originally different inflected forms (resulting in a reduction in the use of inflections)
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
