generative

See also: générative

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-os
Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁os
Proto-Italic *genos
Latin genus
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu.
Proto-Italic *-ājō
Proto-Italic *-āō
Latin -ō
Latin genero
Proto-Indo-European *-wós
Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder.
Latin -īvus
Old French -ifbor.
Middle English -yf
Middle English generatyve
English generative

    Inherited from Middle English generatyve. By surface analysis, generate + -ive. Compare French génératif.

    Pronunciation

    • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnəɹətɪv/, /ˈd͡ʒɛnɹətɪv/, /d͡ʒəˈnɛɹətɪv/
      • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛnəɹətɪv/, [ˈd͡ʒɛnəɹəɾɪv], /ˈd͡ʒɛnɹətɪv/, [ˈd͡ʒɛnɹəɾɪv], /d͡ʒəˈnɛɹətɪv/, [d͡ʒəˈnɛɹəɾɪv]
      • Audio (US):(file)
    • (Australia) IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒenəɹətɪv/, [ˈd͡ʒenəɹəɾɪv]

    Adjective

    generative (comparative more generative, superlative most generative)

    1. Having the power of generating, propagating, originating, or producing.
      Synonym: creative
      Antonym: annihilative
      • 1692, Richard Bentley, [A Confutation of Atheism] (please specify the sermon), London: [Thomas Parkhurst; Henry Mortlock], published 1692–1693:
        That generative particle.
      • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 127:
        Of course, structures like those associated with (36) and (37) constitute only a tiny subset of the infinite set of well-formed sentence structures found in English. We can increase the Generative Capacity of our grammar ( = the set of structures which it generates) either by expanding the Lexicon on the one hand, or by expanding the Categorial Rules (i.e. Phrase Structure Rules) on the other.
      • 2025 January 30, Tessa Solomon, “AI Art Lacking ‘Human Expression’ Cannot Be Copyrighted, US Officials Say”, in ARTnews‎[1], archived from the original on 13 September 2026:
        The document states that despite its ongoing advancements, generative AI is liable to the United States’s current copyright principles, which take a strict stance on what material—human- or machine-made—qualifies for protection.
    2. (euphemistic) Reproductive.
      • 1893, John O'Neill, The Night of the Gods, volume 1, page 20:
        Thus, too, the gods got their genealogies, and these dovetail into the genealogies of men; for actual generative communion and procreation between gods and women, goddesses and men, is superabundant in all mythologies.
      • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:
        Hence the ubiquity of Priapus himself as a sculptural representative of the generative principle, populated the Roman gardens, assertive in ithyphallic pose.
      • 2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 91:
        This ceremony seals the covenant in the flesh of the male generative organ.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    German

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    generative

    1. inflection of generativ:
      1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
      2. strong nominative/accusative plural
      3. weak nominative all-gender singular
      4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

    Italian

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /d͡ʒe.ne.raˈti.ve/
    • Rhymes: -ive
    • Hyphenation: ge‧ne‧ra‧tì‧ve

    Adjective

    generative

    1. feminine plural of generativo

    Anagrams

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