ergative

adjective
er·​ga·​tive | \ ˈər-gə-tiv How to pronounce ergative (audio) \

Definition of ergative

: of, relating to, or being a language (such as Inuit or Georgian) in which the objects of transitive verbs and subjects of intransitive verbs are typically marked by the same linguistic forms also : being an inflectional morpheme that typically marks the subject of a transitive verb in an ergative language

First Known Use of ergative

1939, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for ergative

Greek ergatēs worker, from ergon work

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