copulative
Americanadjective
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serving to unite or couple.
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Grammar.
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involving or consisting of connected words or clauses.
a copulative sentence.
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pertaining to or serving as a copula; serving to connect subject and complement.
a copulative verb.
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serving to connect nouns, noun phrases, verbs, clauses, etc..
a copulative conjunction.
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of the dvandva type.
Bittersweet is a copulative compound.
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of or relating to sexual intercourse.
noun
adjective
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serving to join or unite
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of or characteristic of copulation
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grammar (of a verb) having the nature of a copula
Other Word Forms
- copulatively adverb
Etymology
Origin of copulative
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English copulatif, from Middle French copulatif, copulative, from Late Latin cōpulātīvus; see copulate, -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the English Bible this particle is usually rendered by the copulative conjunction and; in the Septuagint, and in Josephus, however, it sometimes has the sense of but.
From The Religion of Geology and Its Connected Sciences by Hitchcock, Edward
In such a sentence as, "He that cometh to God must believe that He is," the word is means exists.Verbs that are like the copula, such as, appear, become, seem, etc., are called copulative verbs.
From Composition-Rhetoric by Brooks, Stratton D.
It is a copulative conjunction, connecting the two members of the sentence—he will adopt if he can procure: Rule, as above.
From Lectures on Language As Particularly Connected with English Grammar. by Balch, William Stevens
That no number of connected singular nouns can govern a plural verb, unless they be connected by a copulative conjunction.
From A Handbook of the English Language by Latham, R. G. (Robert Gordon)
But the conjunction is often omitted in copulative and adversative clauses, as in Sec.
From An English Grammar by Sewell, James Witt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
