relativen.adj.adv.
/ˈrɛlətɪv/, U.S. /ˈrɛlədɪv/ A. n.† 4. A relationship. Obsolete. rare.
1. Grammar. Originally: a word relating or referring to an antecedent, as a demonstrative, personal, or relative pronoun. Now: spec. a word which refers to an antecedent and attaches a clause to it (e.g. who, which, that); such a clause. Cf. sense B. 1.In quot. c1400 figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > pronoun > [noun] > relative pronoun
relativec1400
subjunctivea1831
relative pronoun1872
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > pronoun > [noun] > other specific types of pronoun
relativec1400
demonstrative pronounc1525
question word1878
object pronoun1885
pronoun object1889
common-sex pronoun1922
non-personal1925
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. iv. 357 [God] a graciouse antecedent. And man ys relatif rect yf he be ryht triwe; He a-cordeþ with crist..In case..In numbre.
a1450 (a1397) Prol. Old Test. in Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Cambr. Mm.2.15) (1850) xv. 57 A relatif..may be resoluid into his antecedent with a coniunccioun copulatif.
c1525 T. Linacre Rudimenta Grammatices sig. e3 A relatiue is that that maketh report agayne or rehersal of a thyng spoken of in the reason before, as Virgilius legitur, et hic est precipue audiendus.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 148 He appealeth to the grammarian for the nature of a Relatiue.
1677 R. Cary Palæologia Chronica 235 Jochanan begat Azariah; he it is that Executed the Priests Office, &c. This Relative [sc. He] may have reference either to Jochanan, or Azariah.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1658 (1955) III. 207 The government & use of Relatives, Verbs Transitive, Substantives.
1746 T. Nugent tr. C. Lancelot et al. New Method of learning Greek Tongue II. vii. i. 121 It is by Virtue of this Attraction that the Greek Relative agrees frequently in Case with its Antecedent.
1762 R. Lowth Short Introd. Eng. Gram. 103 Who, which, what, and the Relative that,..are always placed before the Verb.
1762 R. Lowth Short Introd. Eng. Gram. 139 There still remains an ambiguity in the Relatives they, them, which in number and gender are equally applicable to bodies or hands.
1804 L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 9) ii. ix. 128 Relatives are not so useful in language, as conjunctions.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. v. 96 The relatives..are an agency we could hardly afford to miss.
1926 C. M. Doke Phonetics of Zulu Lang. 283 A relative..qualifies a substantive, and is brought into concordial agreement therewith by the relative concord.
1976 Language 52 634 Very few accusative pronouns show up in relatives.
2006 J. Algeo Brit. or Amer. Eng.? vi. 149 The initial position is favored except in relative clauses, where the initial position of the relative has priority.
2.
a. A thing (or †person) standing in some relation to another. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > that which is related or has affinity
brotherOE
cousina1398
relativea1475
sistera1500
cousin-germanc1547
yokefellow1547
ally1566
affinitive1579
twin1592
conjugate1605
sympathizant1620
relatist1640
first cousin1670
family likeness1759
family resemblance1785
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) 3057 (MED) He that haueth pleyn power..And haueth Iurediccyon Above, & domynacion, And ys the right ful relatyff, To whom..Thow art soget.
1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 408 After the husbande and the wife, there followeth.., the childe and his Gardein, whom also (since they be Relatiues, as the other be..) [etc.].
1606 W. Warner Continuance Albions Eng. xv. c. 394 Religion and Subiection be each th'others Relatiue.
1655 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans (ed. 2) Pref. sig. B2 Certain Authors have been so irreverendly bold, as to dash Scriptures, and the sacred Relatives of God with their impious conceits.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. ii. ii. 279 The band of marriage is Eternal, but it dies with either of the relatives.
a1716 R. Traill Stedfast Adherence Profession of Faith (1718) vi. 97 Faith and God's faithfulness are relatives.
a1806 J. Barry in R. N. Wornum Lect. on Painting (1848) 93 The mere..opposition of the several colours, proper to his object, and to the relatives which accompanied it.
1862 H. Spencer First Princ. i. iv. §24. 81 An Absolute which existed not alone but along with other Absolutes, would no longer be an absolute but a relative.
1985 T. B. Wiens in W. L. Parish Chinese Rural Devel. iii. 75 The relative marginal prices of crops are the same as the corresponding border price relatives.
b. Logic and Philosophy. A relative term. See sense B. 5a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > relativity > a relative term
relative1528
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > philosophy of language > meaning > [noun] > relative meaning or term
relative1528
relativization1927
1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man To Rdr. f. xviii v What wonderfull dreames have they of their predicamentes, vniversales, seconde intencions, quidities hecseities & relatives.
1588 A. Fraunce Lawiers Logike i. xi. f. 48 Relatiues are contraries,..yet there may bee in other respects a mutuall consent and reciprocall relation betweene them, wherevpon they bee called Relatiues, as father, sonne, husband, wife, &c.
1649 J. Milton Tenure of Kings 31 We know that King and Subject are relatives, and relatives have no longer being then in the relation.
1697 J. Sergeant Solid Philos. 252 Some Terms which seem Absolute are Relatives.
1779 Ld. Monboddo Antient Metaphysics I. ii. iii. 68 Relation, the nature of which is, that the relatives, or things related, necessarily refer to one another.
a1856 W. Hamilton Lect. Metaphysics (1859) II. App. 536 Thus relatives are severally discriminated; inasmuch as the one is specially what is referred, the other specially what is referred to.
1888 Amer. Jrnl. Philol. 9 287 In the case of relative terms the ideal relatives will correlate with each other only and not with the things of this world.
a1914 C. S. Peirce Coll. Papers (1931) I. 146 A thorough study of the logic of relatives..shows that logical terms are either monads, dyads, or polyads.
1962 W. Kneale & M. Kneale Devel. Logic 429 Possibly the idea of an algebra of relatives was suggested by De Morgan's convention of writing 1m as an abbreviation for 1 of an m of.
1984 Speculum 59 781 Relatives like ‘right’ and ‘left’ refer to a particular quality that something possesses in relation to something else.
c. Music. A relative major or minor key. See sense B. 3c.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > system of sounds or intervals > [noun] > key > relative major or minor key
relative1786
1786 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music (at cited word) Every major-key is called the relative of such minor key, and every minor-key the relative of its third above, taken in the major-mode.
1847 R. Platt New, Easy, & Correct Syst. Vocal Music iv. 71 The key of A minor (or rather its relative, C major) has no sharp in its signature.
1860 H. S. Saroni tr. A. B. Marx Theory & Pract. Musical Composition (ed. 6) 81 Let c be the principal key. Its relatives are a minor, with the same signature; next, g, with f#, and its minor, e.
1928 Music & Lett. 9 350 With a major tonic we can change the modes of its relatives.
1994 R. Winter & R. Martin Beethoven Quartet Compan. 290 The keynotes of ‘relatives’ are always a minor third..apart.
3.
a. A person who is related to another or others by blood or marriage; a relation.blood relative: see the first element.
ΚΠ
1650 Bp. J. Taylor Rule & Exercises Holy Living ii. §6 170 The sons and the parents, friends and relatives are in the world, like hours and minutes to a day.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. ii. ii. 315 Cosens would do better not to marry (saies another)..that one person may not be a double Relative.
a1702 J. Pomfret Prospect Death (1703) 4 Our Friends, and Relatives stand weeping by, Dissolv'd in Tears to see us dye.
1793 Minstrel I. 24 St. Julian was..a relative to the duchess of York.
1825 C. Thirlwall tr. F. Schleiermacher Crit. Ess. Luke 125 While he is yet speaking his relatives are announced to him.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xvii. 121 He had received intelligence of the death of a near relative.
1937 J. P. Marquand Late George Apley xi. 124 It is hard..to love the whole new group of extraneous people who fall your way, simply because they are relatives of your wife.
1968 Punch 28 Feb. 323/2 His blunt, iron-minded relatives in Yorkshire.
1998 Community Care 18 June 4/2 Carers fulfil a vital role as they help a relative or friend.
b. A thing or group (such as a species, language, etc.) which is related to another by common origin or (more loosely) by similarity of structure, properties, or purpose.
ΚΠ
1771 J. Z. Holwell Interesting Hist. Events: Pt. 3 178 From this doctrine (a relative of the Metempsychosis) flowed the first principle of the Manichean system.
1781 J. Clowes tr. E. Swedenborg True Christian Relig. II. vii. 68 All Birds know their Relatives, not by their Feathers, but by their Notes and Cries.
1811 J. Pinkerton Petralogy I. vi. i. 550 Serpentine has never been observed to contain any metal except iron, and its relatives pyrites and garnet.
1874 J. G. Wood Out of Doors 287 The beak of this species [of goat-sucker] is not so powerful as in many of its relatives.
1887 N.E.D. at Blush v.1 The nearest relatives of ME. blusche, blosche, blysche, are app. MLG. bloschen, LG. blüsken.
1908 Daily Graphic 21 Mar. 13/2 Step-ladder sleeves are distant relatives of the Kimono.
1937 Life 12 Apr. 24/1 Cro-Magnon Man is..certainly a fairly close relative of modern man.
1967 J. H. Stephens Water & Waste iii. 49 The purpose of the service reservoir, and its close relative, the water tower, is to allow for the peaks in demand.
1974 Country 12 Dec. 1855/3 A Metasequoia, the deciduous redwood relative discovered in China in 1941.
1998 A. Dalby Dict. Langs. 187/1 Ewondo and its relatives are Bantu languages spoken in the valleys of western Cameroun, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun]
yokeOE
relationa1398
respecta1398
report1523
society?1545
habitude1561
conjugation1605
necessitudea1626
attinency1632
dependencea1634
belonginga1648
respectiveness1650
nexure1652
synapsis1655
relative1657
rapport1660
proportion1664
schesis1678
relationship1724
appurtenance1846
relationality1866
interosculation1883
tie-up1927
tie-in1934
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > [noun]
gadlingeOE
sibmanOE
friendOE
sibOE
siblingOE
kinsmanc1175
friendmana1200
kinc1200
cousinc1300
allyc1380
kindreda1450
parent?c1450
alliancec1475
lyance1502
relation1502
relate1651
relative1657
relator1665
family member1673
correlative1697
relater1702
rellie1921
rello1982
1657 L. Gatford in E. D. Neill Virginia Carolorum (1886) 278 A practice..abominated of all men that know either what men are,..or what their relatives are, either natural, civil, or Christian.
1675 R. Allestree Art Contentm. v. 97 We attacque him in all his concerns..in his honor, in his relatives, nay somtimes in his very essence and being.
5. Chiefly Philosophy. With the. That which is relative (sense B. 2a). Contrasted with absolute n. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > relativity > that which is relative
relative1818
non-absolutea1834
1818 G. Field in Pamphleteer 12 480 Relation and essence, or the relative and the absolute, are the most universal or first categories.
1856 J. F. Ferrier Inst. Metaphysic (ed. 2) xix. 367 Objects, whatever they may be, are the relative in cognition.
1936 Proc. & Addr. Amer. Philos. Assoc. 10 125 When an individual..fixes his goal, there is established within the realm of the relative..a practical absolute.
1958 W. Stark Sociol. of Knowl. iv. 193 Pareto devalues, and indeed abolishes, the relative in reality; but that means..that he operates with a thought-model which is unrealistic.
1992 Amer. Scholar Autumn 576/2 The great progress of..criticism has been the substitution of..the concept of the relative to the concept of the absolute.
B. adj.
1. Grammar. Of a word, clause, etc.: relating or referring to an antecedent. Now: spec. referring to an antecedent and attaching a clause to it. Frequently in relative pronoun n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [adjective] > referring > types of reference
relativec1450
anaphorical1660
resumptive1828
anaphoric1872
deictic1922
endophoric1974
exophoric1974
cataphoric1976
c1450 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 36 How many of these be othyr whyle relatyf and other whyle demonstratyf? Tweyne, videlicet ille and ipse.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 81 Of the pronownes relatives qui..serveth indifferently for all gendres and nombres.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Relatiue or whiche hathe relation to a thynge precedyng, relatiuus.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes v. §2. 411 This relative particle..They.
1762 Ld. Kames Elements Crit. II. xviii. 291 In a natural style, relative words are by juxtaposition connected with those to which they relate.
1795 W. Vincent Greek Verb Analysed 25 This conclusion puts an end to the whole dispute of grammarians whether Qui* is an article relative, or a pronoun.
1845 J. Stoddart Gram. in Encycl. Metrop. (1847) I. 66/1 The Greek had only the relative Article ὁ, ἡ, τὸ, and was entirely destitute of our positive Article.
1882 D. B. Monro Gram. Homeric Dial. xii. 206 (heading) The Relative Adverbs.
1903 W. G. Hale & C. D. Buck Latin Gram. iv. 260 The Volitive Subjunctive may be used..in Relative Clauses.
1945 Internat. Jrnl. Amer. Linguistics 11 175 Throwing the verb into the relative construction will cause vowel-change in the first syllable of the stem.
2004 Harvard Stud. Classical Philol. 102 55 The relative sentences that introduce lyric narratives.
2.
a. Existing or possessing a specified characteristic only in comparison to something else; not absolute or independent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > effect, result, or consequence > [adjective] > dependent or contingent
relativea1500
perpendicular1555
dependent1593
dependential1646
contingent1785
depending1816
conditioned1851
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 79 (MED) I say not that in thingis worldely oon ne may abyde by hope relatif, but neuirthelesse so to abide by determinacion substantyve.
1547 J. Wilkinson tr. Aristotle Ethiques xlviij. sig. k.iv Delectacion is not mouing, for euery thyng that may moue hath tariyng and hastyng. But thynges relatiue haue no mouyng.
1642 tr. W. Ames Marrow Sacred Divinity viii. 38 These are not properly created, but concreated, or annexed, knit to the things created: because they have not an absolute, but only a relative entitie or being.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 15 Congruity,..being a Relative property of a fluid, whereby it may be said to be like or unlike to this or that other body.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Specifick Gravity... By some 'tis not improperly called Relative Gravity, to distinguish it from Absolute Gravity.
1707 Glossographia Anglicana Nova at Time Time is distinguished into absolute Time and relative Time.
1763 J. Brown Diss. Poetry & Music v. 75 Melody therefore is to be considered as a relative thing, founded in the particular Associations and Habits of each People.
a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1838) III. 55 Certainty is positive, evidence relative.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 238 A votary of that famous philosophy in which all things are said to be relative.
1952 S. Plath Jrnl. 25 July (2000) 121 Reality is relative, depending on what lens you look through.
1984 A. Brookner Hotel du Lac (1985) viii. 111 Age is relative... You're as old as you feel.
2003 R. Dawkins Devil's Chaplain (2004) ii. v. 115 Biologists could, with relative impunity, be cutting their teeth on something even more ambitious.
b. Considered in relation or proportion to something else or each other; comparative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [adjective] > relative
respectivec1454
proportional1561
relative1611
non-absolute1654
scheticala1688
1611 J. Florio Rules Ital. Tongue in Queen Anna's New World of Words 641 The second respectiue, relatiue, or limited Preterimperfect tence, which doth euer eyther expressiuely or inclusiuely answere or regard the former.
1673 S'too him Bayes 37 No more does it follow that Geneva..must change from North to South, the place of her Relative Situation.
1750 T. Nugent tr. C. de Secondat Spirit of Laws II. xxii. ix. 78 Besides the positive plenty and scarcity of gold and silver, there is still a relative abundance, and a relative scarcity of one of these metals compared to the other.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §235 They were..so marked, that..they could again be restored to the same relative position.
1822 T. Webster Imison's Elem. Sci. & Art (new ed.) I. 447 Relative motion is the degree and direction of the motion of one body, when compared with that of another.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xv. 308 The point to be decided is the relative importance of his idea.
1932 E. Waugh Black Mischief ii. 69 Lady Courteney and Sir Samson discussed the relative advantages of tulips and asparagus.
1945 Wireless World Sept. 270/2 The Naval ‘Plan Position Indicator’ presents..a complete picture of the relative positions of all aircraft in the vicinity.
1998 Noûs 32 28 Their only way of gauging the relative strength of poisons requires seeing how ill poison-eaters become.
c. In relation or proportion to; compared to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [adjective] > relative or proportionate
relative1619
relevant1868
1619 W. Cowper Pathmos iv. 63 All these three sights had Saint Iohn, but here hee sees these Visions by the second sight. Now this sight is relatiue to the sight hee saw before..and it renders this lesson [etc.].
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. ii. ii. 368 If it be a reason that is not relative to times and persons.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man i. 60 Whatever wrong we call, May, must be right, as relative to All.
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. ii. xxiii. 295 All magnitude is relative to the size of the creatures observing it.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §154 The firmness of all the material parts, as relative to the force to be employed.
1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. xxiii. 595 The market value will always be relative to its demand.
1877 E. R. Conder Basis of Faith iv. 141 All knowledge must be relative to mind.
1920 H. J. Laski Polit. Thought in Eng. v. 162 Laws, governments, customs are not truths absolute and universal, but relative to the time of their origin and the country from which they derive.
1969 N. Chomsky At War with Asia (1971) i. 14 The United States emerged from World War II with overwhelming power relative to other industrial societies.
2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 1 May ii. 42/2 How does one judge the value of Ms. Whiteread's cast fiberglass and rubber mattress relative to Mr. Hirst's deteriorating shark?
3. † d. Corresponding. Obsolete. rare.
a. Of two or more things: having mutual relationship; related, connected. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > correlation > [adjective] > mutual or reciprocal
evena1425
interchangeablec1450
relativea1500
reciprocativea1504
mutual1513
reciproque?1533
reciprocous1567
requiteda1586
intermutual1595
alternate1600
commutual1604
vicissitudinary1629
reciprocal1632
reflexivea1635
reciprocated1663
related1671
mutuous1683
turn about1802
interdependent1817
interrelated1827
reciprocating1827
reciprocate1833
transmutuala1834
reflective1839
interpendent1855
interradiating1858
two-way1950
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 93 Rightes er propre & comoun in dyuers degreez..and þe names of right er relatyf [a1500 Ashm. Justice is a novne relatif], or aȝeyn~ledynge to some þinges sayd, & amendyng of wronge.
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises i. xvi. f. 19 The relatiue [numbers] are those which haue relation one to another.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. ii. i. 269 Nature and her laws have both the same Author, and are relative to each other.
1662 T. Hobbes Mr Hobbes Considered 21 Protection and Obedience are Relative.
1728 S. Croxall tr. Æsop Fables (new ed.) xx. 38 The Duties between Parents and their Children are relative and reciprocal.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XII. 187/1 The relative modes are such as the composer interweaves with the principal in the flow of the harmony.
1858 N. Hawthorne French & Ital. Note-bks. II. 146 Several different, yet relative designs.
1917 T. H. Ellis Nature's Invisible Forces xiii. 213 We are all relative in the sense that we are all products of the same universal laws and principles.
b. Of a rank: corresponding in grade to another in a (different) military service. Also of two or more ranks: equivalent.
ΚΠ
1773 Let. from Captain of Man of War to Member of Parl. 17 I know not how to account for this inequality between the two services, otherwise, than that our relative rank was not settled by authority at the time.
1804 W. F. Mavor Universal Hist., Anc. & Mod. V. v. 141 The military tribunes, who..held a relative rank with the generals in the army.
1866 J. W. Grimes Let. 14 June in W. Salter Life J. W. Grimes iv. 296 That provision was intended for Admiral Farragut, to give him a corresponding rank to that which is contemplated to be bestowed upon General Grant. These ranks are relative.
1886 Colburn's United Service Mag. Dec. 564 A commission in one of the departments of our Navy or Army, the holder of which is entitled to honorary or relative Navy or Army rank.
1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station iv. 75 Flight Commander (relative rank of Lieutenant, R.N.).
1943 National Geographic Mag. Dec. 717/2 Coast and Geodetic Survey officers..hold relative rank with officers of the Navy from ensign to rear admiral.
2004 L. M. Fenner in S. J. Bugbee Officer & Lady Introd. p. xiv Military medical officers supported ‘relative rank’ for female nurses in 1920; they could wear ‘officer rank’ but were not afforded commensurate pay, privileges, or command responsibilities.
c. Music. Of a major (or minor) key: related to a minor (or major) key by having the same key signature.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > system of sounds or intervals > [adjective] > tonality > relative key
relative1782
1782 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music II. v. 468 The relative minor keys to a major, and major to a minor, are, reciprocally, the 3ds above and 3ds below, which furnish imitations, but not answers, to subjects of Fugue.
1818 T. Busby Gram. Music 133 [A transition] from the major scale to its relative minor.
1847 Musical Times June 104/1 The signature of Do minor is the same as that of Mi♭ major, which is therefore called its relative major.
1937 Bull. Amer. Musicol. Soc. No. 2. 11 A distinctive feature is his use of a relative key for the last half of the dances in the same suite.
1991 J. Caldwell Oxf. Hist. Eng. Music I. vii. 412 The second part opens with a veritable paroxysm of chromatically expressed grief, resolved by a modulation to the relative major.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > correlation > [adjective]
redditivec1525
correlative1530
reciprocate?1532
responsive1604
reciprocal1617
collateral1659
equivalenta1661
responding1670
co-relative1761
relative1849
correlate1850
correlated1859
complementary1860
obverse1875
double of1876
complemental1882–3
dual1947
intercorrelational1970
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. iii. 71 The square and circle..with their relative solids, the cube and sphere.
4. † c. Of a person: concerned or involved in a thing. Obsolete. rare.
a. Having application or reference to; relating to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [adjective] > relating to or regarding > with regard or reference to
relative1563
1563 G. Hay Confut. Abbote of Crosraguels Masse sig. Gii Our Sauiour..willeth vs to do this in remembrance of him, which is relatiue to the whole action before practysed, of taking bread, thankes geuing, breaking of it, [etc.].
1566 in J. Anderson Coll. Mary Queen of Scotl. (1727) I. 48 We have ressauit ȝour lettre..relatine [read relatiue] to our last writing sent ȝow.
1671 R. McWard True Non-conformist 378 Say not that the first part of the abovementioned rescissory clause, relative to the Act. 1592. Is simple.
1763 W. Harris in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) (Camden) 401 The letter relative to Charles's death.
1765 J. Harris Three Treat. (ed. 2) Notes 362 Things relative to immediate Want, such as the grinding of Corn by Mills.
?c1795 Strange & Wonderful Predict. C. Love (new ed.) To Public sig. Av Monsieur Jurieu's predictions, relative to the French Revolution.
1800 M. Starke Lett. from Italy II. 126 Two paintings representing Genii with symbols relative to Bacchanlian [sic] feasts and ceremonies.
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. iii. v. 658 Powers and duties relative to harbours and navigation.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables vi. 68 She said nothing to him, relative to the affair, until they were both out in the yard.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 194/1 He is a general officer and at the head of his department of the War Office, which is charged with all duties relative to personnel.
2000 S. Gilbert Tattoo Hist. 220 The most comprehensive documentary/retrospective on everything relative to the hopped-up internal combustion scene.
b. Having relation to the question or matter in hand; pertinent, relevant. Now rare.It has been suggested that in quot. 1604 relative has the sense ‘relatable, reportable’: see H. M. Hulme Explorations in Shakespeare's Language (1962) 30-33 and American Notes & Queries 20 (1981) 40-2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [adjective]
to (the) purposea1387
pertinentc1390
appliablec1429
relevantc1540
appliant1548
incident1557
relative1579
home1607
effectual1608
ad rem1680
adaptable1718
to the point1817
pointful1898
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin Ep. Ded. sig. *iijv So familiar..is the doctrine of histories and information of times, that by so much lesse neede I to stande vpon authorities of antiquitie, or declarations relatiue.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 606 Ile haue grounds More relatiue then this. View more context for this quotation
1676 I. Mather Hist. King Philip's War (1862) 161 There are judicious persons, who upon the consideration of some relative circumstances,..have concluded [etc.].
1738 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 2) II. 139 Giving his answers..in such ambiguous..terms, that let the event be what it would, they contained a relative meaning.
1808 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) II. 157 All relative matter, not absolutely essential to the subject, should go in the form of supplementary notes.
1866 Daily News 12 Feb. 5/6 I would give no credit to such an assumption without some more relative and positive proof.
1956 Numen 3 149 See my relative article in the Act Orientalia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [adjective] > concerned with or interested in
conversant1597
interessed1598
relative1614
conversant1803
interested1828
1614 T. Overbury et al. Characters in Wife now Widdow (3rd impr.) sig. C4 Shee is relatiue in all; and he without her but halfe himselfe.
5.
a. Chiefly Logic and Philosophy. Of a term, or the concept to which it refers: involving or implying relation; dependent for meaning or significance on a relationship with another term or concept. Cf. absolute adj. 2b.
ΚΠ
1599 T. Blundeville Art of Logike i. xi. 33 Which is said to be relatiue or respective? Those that cannot well be well vnderstood of themselues without hauing relation to some other thing, as the father and the sonne.
1625 T. Jackson Treat. Originall of Vnbeliefe xvii. 138 Whether tearmes formally relatiue alwayes multiplie according to the number of their proper correlatiues?
1640 Bp. J. Wilkins Disc. New Planet (1707) vi. 208 The Words Great and Little, are relative Terms, and do import a Comparison to something else.
1678 J. Bunyan Come, & Welcome 18 To call God by this relative Title [sc. Father] was rare among the Saints in Old-Testament times.
1789 J. Bentham Introd. Princ. Morals & Legisl. vi. 44 It [sc. weakness] is..a relative term, and accordingly imports the absence of such a quantity of strength as makes the share, possessed by the person in question, less than that of some person he is compared to.
1843 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic I. i. ii. §7 A name is relative when, being the name of one thing, its signification cannot be explained but by mentioning another.
1869 B. Harte Tennessee's Partner in Wks. (1880) II. 135 Tennessee's Partner, whom we never knew by any other than this relative title.
1957 P. Geach Mental Acts 101 In an ‘extensional’ logic..predicates or relative terms would be freely intersubstitutable provided that they held good of the same objects.
1985 P. Auster N.Y. Trilogy (1988) i. xiii. 127 Night and day were no more than relative terms.
2004 P. M. Hood Aristotle on Category of Relation iv. 108 Does this semantic interdependence diminish the incompleteness or indefiniteness of the relative word?
b. Logic and Philosophy. Of a proposition: containing a relation or comparison.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [adjective] > relative > of terms, etc.
relative1704
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Relative Propositions, are those that include some Comparison, add some Relation, thus: Where the Treasure is, there is the Heart.
1774 T. Reid Brief Acct. Aristotle's Logic ii. §2, in Ld. Kames Sketches Hist. Man II. iii. 179 The moderns..have been led to attend only to relative propositions, which express a relation between two subjects.
1837 S. E. Parker Logic ii. iii. 94 Duncan and Hedge object to conditional, causal, and relative propositions being considered as different kinds of compound propositions.
1892 E. E. C. Jones Introd. Gen, Logic i. ii. 14 Compare E is F—Absolute Proposition—and E is equal to F—Relative Proposition.
1915 Proc. Aristotelian Soc. 15 365 Relative Propositions are of course not confined to cases in which there are only two Relata.
1998 M. P. Lynch Truth in Context (2001) i. 25 The existence of a true relative proposition entails a relative fact.
6. † b. Referring to something else; having further significance. Obsolete. rare.
a. Theology. Of worship, veneration, etc.: offered to or by means of an image or icon; indirect. Cf. latria n.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > kinds of worship > [adjective] > indirect
relative1618
1618 Bp. T. Morton Def. Innocencie Three Ceremonies ii. iii. 277 We expected that you would at least haue endeuored to proue, in our manner of Kneeling, a Popish kind of relatiue worship.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 98 They adore 'em not with a Relative Adoration, but pay their Devotion to the Material Substance.
1756 A. Butler Lives Saints I. 346 The allowing to holy pictures and images a relative honour.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xxiii. 374/2 The supreme pontiff..prefers the Greek poets to the Hebrew prophets, and palliates, with the skill of a Jesuit, the relative worship of images.
1833 G. S. Faber Recapit. Apostasy 14 The Jews and Mohammedans..derived from the Law and the Koran an immortal hatred to graven images and all relative worship.
1884 Catholic Dict. (1885) 239/1 The same idea is expressed by Cyril of Alexandria when he speaks of the ‘relative veneration and cultus of honour’.
1911 Catholic Encycl. XII. 735/2 The inferior and relative nature of the honour due to relics was always kept in view.
1974 J. Meyendorff Byzantine Theol. iii. 46 The image, or icon..can be the object only of a relative veneration or honor, not of worship which is reserved for God alone.
2005 K. Hart in L. Hill et al. After Blanchot 43 We venerate icons (relative worship) and we adore God (absolute worship).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adjective] > of a truth: referring further
relative1710
1710 J. Norris Treat. Christian Prudence i. 2 Truths of Importance then are Relative Truths, that have an Order or Reference to something farther.
C. adv.
1. With to. In relation or proportion to.
ΚΠ
a1794 E. Gibbon Memoirs in Misc. Wks. (1796) I. 127 Naples, the most populous of cities, relative to its size.
1830 London Med. & Surg. Jrnl. Oct. 238 Other points are to be kept in view, as the posture of the body.., how it is situated relative to surrounding objects.
1894 T. Preston Theory of Heat i. 82 The energy in an isolated system is objective like the matter of the system in so far as it is measured relative to a being in the system.
1958 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 72 351 The desirability of an activity..is evaluated relative to the solution values of some explicit or implied maximum-welfare problem.
1991 Christian Sci. Monitor 21 Oct. 7 The dollar..remains low relative to its levels in the mid-1980s.
2. With to. With reference to, regarding. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1804 Ld. Nelson Lett. (1814) II. 62 I write to the Admiralty relative to my health.
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel II. viii. xiii. 372 A letter to Egerton, with whom he wished to consult relative to a very important point.
1892 J. Wright Early Bibles Amer. 48 Relative to this last charge he wrote, [etc.].
1922 Pacific Reporter 203 67/1 The appellants were questioned upon cross-examination relative to this transaction, and denied the same.
Phrases
to be all relative: to be evaluated differently depending on a person's perspective; to be incapable of definitive or absolute evaluation. Frequently in it's all relative.
ΚΠ
1804 C. Robinson Rep. High Court Admiralty 4 131 It may be difficult to lay down the precise bounds, where ordinary commerce ends, and extraordinary speculation begins. It is all relative.
1826 Monthly Rev. May 26 To a stranger the features appear ugly. Beauty of this description is all relative.
1876 Harper's Mag. Mar. 564/2 There is no absolute value to a work of art; it's all relative.
1904 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 18 372 Luxuries afford no real absolute utility: the satisfaction they yield is all relative.
1907 Everybody's Mag. Oct. 465/2 When people truly love each other nothing else matters... It's all relative and it doesn't make any difference what you have or haven't—what you can have or can't have.
1969 J. Weidman & J. Yaffe Ivory Tower 74 Only a man of limited experience would use the phrase ‘very long’. It's all relative. Sooner or later men and women grow tired of one another.
2004 Snoop Aug.–Sept. 30/1 Torture they say is all relative. Some people would rather be put to rack than endure an hour of a girlfriend telling them what she did all day.
Compounds
relative address n. Computing an address (address n. 6c) defined only in relation to another address; cf. absolute address n. at absolute adj. and n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > programming language > program or code > [noun] > address > type of
absolute address1951
relative address1951
symbolic address1953
base address1958
indirect address1959
pointer1963
direct address1964
immediate address1964
vector address1975
referrer1995
1951 Math. Tables & Other Aids Computation 5 234 A relative address..identifies a position in the memory by specifying its displacement relative to the position of the instruction-word itself.
1956 E. C. Berkeley & L. Wainwright Computers viii. 352/2 Relative addresses are translated into absolute addresses by adding some specific ‘reference’ address.
2003 M. Balch Compl. Digital Design iii. 74 A relative address is expressed as a signed offset relative to the current value of the PC.
relative addressing n. Computing the use of relative addresses.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > programming language > program or code > [noun] > address > systems of
indirect address1959
absolute addressing1960
relative addressing1960
direct addressing1963
immediate addressing1964
symbolic addressing1977
multi-addressing1982
1960 Ann. Rev. Automatic Programming 1 35 The facility of relative addressing which has just been briefly described is a valuable one, and was particularly easy to incorporate in the Initial Orders.
2005 B. Parhami Computer Archit. viii. 143 Relative addressing is used when the address is specified relative to an agreed-upon reference address.
relative aperture n. Photography and Optics a measure of the light-collecting power of a lens, telescope, etc., which is usually expressed in terms of its f-number (a lower f-number corresponding to a larger aperture), and is used in determining the exposure needed.
ΚΠ
1885 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 17 Apr. 155/2 ‘Gwent’ says he does not know what the ‘equivalent focus’ of his lens is!.. They have a relative aperture, which ‘Gwent’ can easily prove if he will measure the diameters.
1910 Science 16 Dec. 878/2 It would seem useless to construct doublets of greater size with such large relative aperture.
1946 Pop. Sci. Monthly Mar. 122/2 The principal application of the new glass will be in..‘fast’ lenses, such as those having a relative aperture (speed) of f/4.5 and larger.
2000 S. F. Ray in R. E. Jcobson et al. Man. Photogr. (ed. 9) vi. 83/1 Given the light sensitivity of early photographic materials, a primary requirement was an increase in relative aperture.
relative atomic mass n. chiefly Physics = atomic mass n.; also called atomic weight.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > [noun] > atomic weight
atomic weight1819
equivalent number1826
atomic mass1884
relative atomic mass1892
1892 A. A. Bennett Text-bk. Inorg. Chem. i. 199 It is evident that its [sc. the atom's] mass according to our common standards of mass measure cannot be determined, since the number of these units in a given portion of matter has not been..determined. Hence only relative atomic masses can be determined.
1902 J. C. Hessler & A. L. Smith Ess. Chem. xvi. 232 Relative atomic masses imply a standard; the standard atomic mass, that of oxygen, is assumed to be exactly 16.
1983 G. C. Hill & J. S. Holman Chem. in Context (ed. 2) i. 4 The relative atomic mass of magnesium, on the carbon-12 scale is 24.312.
2000 M. Clugston & R. Flemming Adv. Chem. iii. 29 Relative atomic masses are known with great precision, usually to at least three decimal places.
relative density n. Physics the ratio of the density of a substance to that of some reference substance (usually water for a liquid, and hydrogen or air for a gas); = specific gravity n. at gravity n. 4c.In quot. 1776 the comparison is with the density of the earth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > density or solidity > [noun] > specific gravity
density1665
specific gravity1666
solidity1698
gravity1750
relative density1776
1776 W. Kenrick et al. tr. Comte de Buffon Nat. Hist. Animals, Veg., & Minerals VI. xi. 79 This matter might be a kind of pumice stone..whose relative density is here 169/ 72.
1879 J. D. Everett Units & Physical Constants iv. 30 The relative density of water at various temperatures.., the density at 4°C. being taken as unity.
1892 G. F. Barker Physics iii. i. 315 Relative density is the ratio of the absolute density of a gas or vapor to that of air or of hydrogen.
2007 N.Y. Times Guide Essent. Knowl. (ed. 2) 369/1 The lightest metal, lithium, has a relative density of about 0·5, so it floats on water.
relative deprivation n. Sociology deprivation relative to the living standards, opportunities, etc., of other members of one's class or social group.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [noun] > deprivation or underprivilege
privation1768
underprivilege1937
relative deprivation1949
sufferation1976
1949 S. A. Stouffer et al. Amer. Soldier I. iv. 125 To help explain such variations in attitude, by education, age, and marital condition, a general concept would be useful. Such a concept may be that of relative deprivation.
2008 Indian Express (Nexis) 29 Feb. While absolute poverty should decrease, a sense of relative deprivation is bound to increase, and that is often more dangerous.
relative error n. Statistics the ratio of the absolute error to the actual value of a measurement or other quantity.
ΚΠ
1801 Ann. Reg. 1799 (Otridge ed.) ii. Nat. Hist. 393/1 Although the time-keepers I had with me were none of the best..the relative error could not be very considerable.
1865 Trans. Soc. Engin. 1865 148 It may be observed that the relative error always remains the same, and the absolute error varies as the radius.
1931 Proc. Royal Soc. London A. 131 249 The relative error of measurement for one single oscillogram could be quite fairly estimated to be within 1 or 2 per cent.
2006 M. Hersh Math. Modelling for Sustainable Devel. viii. 260 The absolute error is about the same in the two cases, whereas the relative error is quite significant in the first case and fairly small in the second.
relative humidity n. chiefly Meteorology the amount of moisture in the air compared with the amount the air could hold; spec. the ratio of the mass of water vapour per unit volume of air to the mass in saturated air at the same temperature, typically expressed as a percentage.
ΚΠ
1819 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 114 If the differences of temperature be taken into the account, the relative humidity will be found to be the same.
1903 F. V. Coville Desert Bot. Lab. 42 It is to be seen that plants in this region are subject to the action of a fierce insolation and to an atmosphere of low relative humidity.
2007 Roanoke (Virginia) Times (Nexis) 18 July b2 The true measure of the amount of moisture in the air isn't the relative humidity but the dew point. The dew point is the temperature at which the atmosphere would be entirely saturated, or have 100 percent relative humidity.
relative molecular mass n. Physical Chemistry the average mass of the molecules of a substance expressed by comparison to a standard atom (formerly one of hydrogen or oxygen, now one of the isotope carbon-12) and equivalent to the sum of the relative atomic masses of the constituent atoms; also called molecular weight.
ΚΠ
1866 J. Bayma Elements Molecular Mech. xii. 251 Chemical equivalents, as we have above observed, do not express absolute, but only relative molecular masses. Thus for hydrogen and oxygen we have the proportion H : O :: 1 : 16.
1891 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 13 18 The number expressing the relative molecular mass of an element, represents in milligrammes the absolute mass of a quadrillion atoms of that element.
1964 H. S. Hvistendahl Engin. Units iv. 52 The International Unions of Pure and Applied Physics and of Pure and Applied Chemistry have now agreed that both scales be replaced by one based on an atomic mass unit (amu) equal to 1/12th of the mass of the neutral carbon atom... It is also recommended that the misnomers ‘atomic weight’ and ‘molecular weight’, be renamed relative atomic mass and relative molecular mass, respectively.
1995 New Scientist 11 Nov. 18/1 The finished structure..contains more than 700 atoms in total and has a relative molecular mass of about 24 000.
relative permeability n. Physics the ratio of the magnetic permeability of a medium to that of free space or (less commonly) air.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrically induced magnetism > electromagnetic induction > [noun] > conducting power > ratio
relative permeability1901
1901 T. A. Lyons Treat. Electromagn. Phenomena I. xii. 535 This varying field being measured when iron, nickel, and cobalt successively fills the core, affords numbers, which, compared with air taken as unity and a standard, become ratios denoted by μ, that express the relative permeability of these substances to magnetic induction.
1931 Jrnl. Amer. Philos. Soc. 70 107 Relative permeability μ/ μ0, a number.
2005 J. P. Bentley Princ. Measurem. Syst. (ed. 4) viii. 165 μ is the relative permeability of the circuit material.
relative permittivity n. Physics the ratio of the permittivity of a medium to that of free space; = dielectric constant n. at dielectric adj. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > non-conduction, insulation > [noun] > displacement > constant
specific inductive capacity1838
dielectric constant1875
relative permittivity1893
permittivity of free space1938
1893 O. Heaviside Electromagn. Theory I. ii. 23 (heading) Distinction between absolute and relative permittivity or inductivity.
1955 Nature 2 Apr. 603/1 For polycrystalline material the relative permittivity falls from 45 to 3 in this dispersion region.
2006 W. Bolton Engin. Sci. (ed. 5) xiv. 161 The relative permittivity is often referred to as the dielectric constant. For a vacuum the relative permittivity is 1, for dry air close to 1.
relative pressure n. Physics the difference between the pressure of a gas or vapour and a fixed reference pressure, esp. atmospheric pressure; (also) the ratio of the pressure to a fixed reference pressure; cf. absolute pressure n. at absolute adj. and n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1806 Philos. Mag. 23 388 (caption) The relative pressures per square inch..and expansibility of steam at degrees of heat above the boiling point of water.
1876 Chem. News 25 Feb. 78/1 On compressing the vapours the tension rises to several atmospheres... More accurate statements as to relative pressure and temperature of the vapour of ether cannot be found.
1959 K. R. Atkins Liquid Helium vii. 211 The mass of gas held on a surface varies with the relative pressure p /p0 at constant temperature.
2007 F. Close Void i. 21 The altimeter—a means of measuring one's altitude from the relative pressure of the remaining ocean of air above.
relative pronoun n. Grammar (originally) a pronoun which refers to an antecedent, as a demonstrative or personal pronoun; (now) spec. a pronoun which combines the function of a personal or demonstrative pronoun with that of a conjunction, subordinating one sentence or clause to another (e.g. who, which, that).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > pronoun > [noun] > relative pronoun
relativec1400
subjunctivea1831
relative pronoun1872
1624 J. Lewis Vnmasking of Masse-priest 4 The Agent in this relatiue pronoune, Autos, He.
1765 W. Ward Ess. Gram. 128 The connexion of a personal pronoun with its antecedent is very different from that of a relative pronoun.
1872 R. Morris Hist. Outl. Eng. Accidence xii. §188 The relative pronouns are who, which, that, as. In OE. who, which, what, were not relative, but interrogative pronouns.
1993 Eng. Today July 20/2 In the majority of clauses the relative pronoun functions as subject.
relative proper motion n. Astronomy the proper motion of a star or other celestial object relative to a set of reference points.
ΚΠ
1784 W. Herschel in Philos. Trans. 1783 (Royal Soc.) 73 262 No observations can be so conveniently made to ascertain small relative proper motions among the fixed stars.
1845 Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 1843–5 6 139 The relative proper motion of Sirius in right ascension.
1922 H. S. Jones Gen. Astron. xii. 312 The variation in the relative distances between the two exposures will be due partly..to the relative proper motions of the stars.
2004 J. Kovalevsky & P. K. Seidelmann Fund. Astron. xii. 301 The best that can be determined are the relative proper motions of the components [of a multiple star].
relative sexuality n. [after German relative Sexualität (M. Hartmann 1909, in Archiv f. Protistenkunde 14 325)] Biology (now chiefly historical) a supposed phenomenon in which an individual or gamete of a simple organism may act as either female or male depending on whether it is more or less male than the one it interacts with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > sex and gender > [noun] > state or condition of having characteristics of both sexes
hermaphroditism1808
androgynism1823
hermaphrodism1828
androgynity1842
bisexuality1842
androgyny1852
bisexualism1865
pseudohermaphroditism1881
asexuality1886
virilism1896
bi-gender1912
intersexuality1916
sex intergrade1916
relative sexuality1926
ambisexuality1938
monoecy1949
testicular feminization (or feminizing)1953
1926 Q. Rev. Biol. 1 202 Under the title of Research on Relative Sexuality, Hartmann has recently described results that he obtained with the marine alga, Ectocarpus siliculosus.
1948 F. E. Fritsch Struct. & Reprod. Algae 327 Relative sexuality, in which one thread [of Spirogyra] behaves respectively as male and female to two others, is also on record.
2003 R. H. Davis Microbial Models Molecular Biol. xiv. 188 Relative sexuality, according to Hartmann, was a complication of the simple two-type system.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.adj.adv.c1400