transitive

English

Set theory: An example of a transitivity relation.

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-der.
Proto-Indo-European *térh₂t
Proto-Indo-European *-ónts
Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂ónts
Proto-Indo-European *tr̥h₂n̥ts
Proto-Italic *trāns
Proto-Italic *trāns-
Latin trāns-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey-
Proto-Indo-European *-ti
Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti
Proto-Italic *ejō
Proto-Italic *eō
Latin eō
Latin trānseō
Proto-Indo-European *-wós
Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder.
Latin -īvus
Latin trānsitīvus
English transitive

    From Latin trānsitīvus, from trānseō (“to pass over”) + -īvus.

    Pronunciation

    • enPR: trăn'zĭtĭv, IPA(key): /ˈtɹænzɪtɪv/
    • Audio (US):(file)

    Adjective

    transitive (not comparable)

    1. Making a transit or passage.
      • 1841-1843, Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Poet:
        For all symbols are fluxional; all language is vehicular and transitive, and is good, as ferries and horses are, for conveyance, not as farms and houses are, for homestead.
    2. Affected by transference of signification.
      • 1843, John Stuart Mill, A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive:
        By far the greater part of the transitive or derivative applications of words depend on casual and unaccountable caprices of the feelings or the fancy.
    4. (grammar, of a verb) Taking a direct object or objects.
      Antonym: intransitive
      The English verb "to notice" is a transitive verb, because we say things like "She noticed a problem".
    6. (set theory, of a relation on a set) Having the property that if an element a is related to b and b is related to c, then a is necessarily related to c.
      Antonyms: intransitive, nontransitive
      "Is an ancestor of" is a transitive relation: if Alice is an ancestor of Bob, and Bob is an ancestor of Carol, then Alice is an ancestor of Carol.
    7. (algebra, of a group action) Such that, for any two elements of the acted-upon set, some group element maps the first to the second.
    8. (graph theory, of a graph) Such that, for any two vertices there exists an automorphism which maps one to the other.
    9. (probability) Of a set of dice: not having the intransitive property.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    See also

    Noun

    transitive (plural transitives)

    1. (grammar) A transitive verb.
      • 2011, Carmen Dobrovie-Sorin, The Syntax of Romanian: Comparative Studies in Romance, page 136:
        This means that subcategorization properties do not allow us to distinguish between transitives and intransitives (both types of verbs are allowed, but not obliged, to take a direct object).

    References

    Anagrams

    French

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    transitive

    1. feminine singular of transitif

    German

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    transitive

    1. inflection of transitiv:
      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): /tran.siˈti.ve/, /tran.ziˈti.ve/
    • Rhymes: -ive
    • Hyphenation: tran‧si‧tì‧ve

    Adjective

    transitive f pl

    1. feminine plural of transitivo

    Anagrams

    Latin

    Adjective

    trānsitīve

    1. vocative masculine singular of trānsitīvus
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