(grammar) Serving to express repetition of an action.
frequentative
Definitions, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for frequentative.
Editorial note
Latin also derived new verbal stems from passive participles, but those had a different meaning than the base verbal stem, being either frequentative or causative, so the extra length of such words was justified.
Quick take
(grammar) Serving to express repetition of an action.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of frequentative gathered in one view.
(grammar) Any of a subclass of imperfective verbs that denote a repeated action, no longer productive in English, but found in e.g. Finnish, Latin, Russian, and Turkish.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for frequentative.
adjective
(grammar) Serving to express repetition of an action.
noun
(grammar) Any of a subclass of imperfective verbs that denote a repeated action, no longer productive in English, but found in e.g. Finnish, Latin, Russian, and Turkish.
Example sentences
Latin also derived new verbal stems from passive participles, but those had a different meaning than the base verbal stem, being either frequentative or causative, so the extra length of such words was justified.
The frequentative forms would be "juoksentelemmekohan" and "juoksennellaankohan" respectively.
- "From Latin pistus (“crushed, pounded”), from Latin pīnsō (“to pound, beat, crush”), whose frequentative also gave Italian pestare (“to pound”).
"auspex" in the modern spelling, the source of English "auspices"), from "avi-" = bird and "specere", the non-frequentative form of "spectare".
Quote examples
The frequentative forms would be "juoksentelemmekohan" and "juoksennellaankohan" respectively.
- "From Latin pistus (“crushed, pounded”), from Latin pīnsō (“to pound, beat, crush”), whose frequentative also gave Italian pestare (“to pound”).
"auspex" in the modern spelling, the source of English "auspices"), from "avi-" = bird and "specere", the non-frequentative form of "spectare".
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use frequentative in a sentence?
Latin also derived new verbal stems from passive participles, but those had a different meaning than the base verbal stem, being either frequentative or causative, so the extra length of such words was justified.
What does frequentative mean?
(grammar) Serving to express repetition of an action.
What part of speech is frequentative?
frequentative is commonly used as adjective, noun.