Dictionary

whimperative en · NOUN

Etymology

Blend of whimper + imperative. Coined by Jerrold Sadock in a 1970 essay.

Meanings

1. An order or imperative phrased obliquely as a question, such as "would you mind closing the window?"
   • We see this in the way that whimperatives use pro forma openings like Can you rather than other wordings with the same meaning, such as Are you capable of passing the salt? 2007, Stephen Pinker, The Stuff of Thought, →ISBN, page 388:
   • Since whimperatives look like questions, the lowest hypersentence must be interrogative. 1970, Jerrold Sadock, “Whimperatives”, in Studies Presented to Robert B. Lees by His Students, page 235:

Forms