comparative en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (New-England) audio non-Mary-marry-merry
- /kəmˈpæɹətɪv/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- kəmʹpăr-ə-tĭv (General-American)
- /kəmˈpɛɹətɪv/ Mary–marry–merry merger
- (US) audio Mary-marry-merry
- /kəmˈpæɹətɪv/ without the Mary–marry–merry merger
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Latin pār Latin compār 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 comparō Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin īvus Latin comparātīvusbor. Old French comparatifbor. Middle English comparatif English comparative From Middle English comparatif, from Middle French comparatif, from Latin comparātīvus, equivalent to comparātus, from comparāre (“to compare”) + -ive, from Latin -īvus.
Meanings
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Of or relating to comparison.
that kind of animals that have the comparative faculty, by which they compare things together, deliberate and resolve.
1773, James Burnett, Of the Origin and Progress of Language:He gave us a comparative example to illustrate how the human mind works.
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Using comparison as a method of study, or founded on something using it.
After all, it is undeniable that the B.R. standard coach scored highly in comparative trials with other European railway vehicles on the Continent a few years ago, so that B.R. civil engineers must share responsibility for any defects in its behaviour over here.
1960 December, “Talking of Trains: The riding of B.R. coaches”, in Trains Illustrated, pages 705–706:A comparative study between Homo Sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis.
comparative anatomy
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Approximated by comparison; relative.
The Olympics, the weather and a comparative lack of heavyweight clashes so far this season have been cited as reasons for the drop in viewers.
2016 October 24, Owen Gibson, “Is the unthinkable happening – are people finally switching the football off?”, in The Guardian, London:I've passed the test with comparative ease.
The recurrence of comparative warmth and cold.
1837, William Whewell, History of the Inductive Sciences:This bubble, […] by reason of its comparative levity to the fluid that encloses it, would necessarily ascend to the top.
1692, Richard Bentley, A Confutation of Atheism:
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(obsolete) Comparable; bearing comparison.
And need he had of slumber yet, for none / Had suffered more—his hardships were comparative / To those related in my grand-dad's Narrative.
1819, Lord Byron, Don Juan, II.137:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more comparative | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most comparative | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Deriveds
comparative clause (Multiword terms) · macrocomparative · comparative literature (Multiword terms) · comparative ethics (Multiword terms) · comparative linguist (Multiword terms) · comparative method (Multiword terms) · comparativism · comparatist · comparative superlative (Multiword terms) · comparativeness · comparative degree (Multiword terms) · comparative advantage (Multiword terms) · comparative anatomy (Multiword terms) · comparativistic · comparative case (Multiword terms) · comparativist · noncomparative · comparatively · comparative illusion (Multiword terms) · comparative linguistics (Multiword terms)
Translations (74)
bg сравни́телен (of or relating to comparison) · de vergleichend (of or relating to comparison) · ru сравни́тельный (of or relating to comparison) · fi vertaileva (using comparison as a method of study) · az müqayisəli (of or relating to comparison) · ca comparatiu (using comparison as a method of study) · sl primerjalen (of or relating to comparison) · el συγκριτικός (of or relating to comparison) · sv komparativ (using comparison as a method of study) · tl hambingin (of or relating to comparison) · es comparativo (of or relating to comparison) · id perbandingan (of or relating to comparison) · hy համեմատական (of or relating to comparison) · ga comparáideach (using comparison as a method of study) · cy cymharol (relative) · nrf compathatif (of or relating to comparison) · fr comparatif (of or relating to comparison) · hy համեմատական (using comparison as a method of study) · hu komparatív (using comparison as a method of study) · fa تطبیقی (of or relating to comparison) · hu összehasonlító (using comparison as a method of study) · fa تفضیلی (of or relating to comparison) · it comparativo (of or relating to comparison) · nl vergelijkend (of or relating to comparison) · de komparativ (using comparison as a method of study) · no komparativ (of or relating to comparison) · sv jämförande (using comparison as a method of study) · sk porovnávací (of or relating to comparison) · it comparativo (relative) · nrf compathatif (using comparison as a method of study) · es comparativo (relative) · fr comparatif (using comparison as a method of study) · gl comparativo (of or relating to comparison) · grc συγκριτικός (of or relating to comparison) · is miðstig (of or relating to comparison) · be параўна́льны (of or relating to comparison) · sk relatívny (relative) · ota مقایسهلی (of or relating to comparison) · tr mukayeseli (of or relating to comparison) · de relativ (relative) · fi verrannollinen (of or relating to comparison) · az müqayisəli (using comparison as a method of study) · da komparativ (using comparison as a method of study) · mk споредбен (of or relating to comparison) · bn তুলনামূলক (using comparison as a method of study) · pt comparativo (of or relating to comparison) · uz qiyosiy (using comparison as a method of study) · pt comparativo (using comparison as a method of study) · id komparatif (of or relating to comparison) · da sammenlignende (of or relating to comparison) · ru относи́тельный (relative) · tr karşılaştırmalı (of or relating to comparison) · ga comparáideach (of or relating to comparison) · ro comparativ (of or relating to comparison) · sk pomerný (relative) · uk порівня́льний (of or relating to comparison) · ca comparatiu (of or relating to comparison) · bg сравни́телен (using comparison as a method of study) · pl porównawczy (of or relating to comparison) · az müqayisəvi (using comparison as a method of study) · es comparativo (using comparison as a method of study) · it comparativo (using comparison as a method of study) · ro comparativ (using comparison as a method of study) · da komparativ (of or relating to comparison) · de verhältnismäßig (relative) · sk komparatívny (using comparison as a method of study) · fi suhteellinen (relative) · bg относи́телен (relative) · ru сравни́тельный (using comparison as a method of study) · tl hambingin (using comparison as a method of study) · fi verrannollinen (relative) · fi vertaileva (of or relating to comparison) · el συγκριτικός (using comparison as a method of study) · cs srovnávací (of or relating to comparison)