infinitive - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
From Middle English infenitife (“without end, in perpetuity”), from Late Latin īnfīnītīvus (“unlimited, indefinite”), from Latin īnfīnītus (“unlimited, infinite”).[1][2] By surface analysis, infinite + -ive.
infinitive (plural infinitives)
- (grammar) The infinitive mood or mode (a grammatical mood).
1847, J. J. P. Le Brethon, L. Sandier, Guide to the French language; especially devised for persons who wish to study that language without the assistance of a teacher. the tenth edition, revised and corrected, London, page 69:
The MANNERS of acting, in grammar called modes or moods, are four; Infinitive, Imperative, Indicative, Subjunctive or Conjunctive.
1857, Henry Tindall, A grammar and vocabulary of the Namaqua-Hottentot language, page 38:
There are four moods, the Infinitive, Imperative, Indicative, and Subjunctive. [...] the Infinitive is used to express a thing in a general manner.
- (grammar) A non-finite verb form considered neutral with respect to inflection; depending on language variously found used with auxiliary verbs, in subordinate clauses, or acting as a gerund, and often as the dictionary form.
- (grammar) A verbal noun formed from the infinitive of a verb.
- (mood or mode): grammatical mood, mood, mode
- (verb (form)): verb
- (verbal noun): verbal
a mood or mode of verbs
- Albanian: paskajore (sq) f
- Azerbaijani: məsdər (az)
- Czech: neurčitý způsob m
- Dutch: infinitief (nl) m, onbepaalde wijs (nl) m
- Esperanto: infinitivo (eo)
- Galician: infinitivo (gl) m
- German: Infinitiv (de) m
- Greek:
- Ancient: ἀπαρέμφατος f (aparémphatos)
- Hebrew: שֵׁם פֹּעַל m (shem pó‘al), מָקוֹר (he) m (makór)
- Icelandic: nafnháttur (is) m
- Latin: infinitivus m, modus infinitivus m, modus perpetuus m
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: please add this translation if you can
- Serbo-Croatian: infinitiv (sh)
- Swedish: infinitiv (sv) m, obestämmt sätt
- Tagalog: pawatas, panaganong pawatas
- Welsh: modd annherfynol m, annherfynol (cy) m
uninflected verb form
- Afrikaans: infinitief (af)
- Albanian: paskajore (sq) f
- Arabic: مَصْدَر (ar) m (maṣdar) (verbal noun)
- Armenian: անորոշ դերբայ (hy) (anoroš derbay)
- Asturian: infinitivu m
- Belarusian: інфініты́ў m (infinitýŭ), нявызна́чаная фо́рма f (njavyznáčanaja fórma) (дзеясло́ва)
- Bulgarian: инфинити́в m (infinitív), неопределе́на фо́рма f (neopredeléna fórma) (на глаго́ла)
- Catalan: infinitiu (ca) m
- Chinese:
- Czech: infinitiv (cs) m inan, neurčitek (cs) m inan
- Danish: infinitiv (da), navnemåde c, navneform c
- Esperanto: infinitivo (eo)
- Estonian: tegevusnimi, infinitiiv (et)
- Faroese: navnháttur m
- Finnish: infinitiivi (fi)
- French: infinitif (fr) m
- Galician: infinitivo (gl) m
- Georgian: ინფინიტივი (inpiniṭivi)
- German: Infinitiv (de) n or m
- Greek: απαρέμφατο (el) n (aparémfato)
- Ancient: ἀπαρέμφατος f (aparémphatos)
- Hebrew: שֵׁם פֹּעַל m (shem-pó'al)
- Hungarian: főnévi igenév (hu)
- Icelandic: nafnháttur (is) m
- Ido: infinitivo (io)
- Italian: infinito (it) m
- Japanese: 不定詞 (ja) (ふていし, futeishi)
- Kazakh: инфинитив (infinitiv)
- Korean: 부정사(不定詞) (ko) (bujeongsa)
- Latin: aparemphatum n
- Latvian: nenoteiksme (lv) f
- Lithuanian: bendratis (lt) f
- Macedonian: и́нфинитив m (ínfinitiv)
- Navajo: bee áhodoonííł saad
- Norman: înfinnitif m
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: infinitiv m
- Persian: مصدر (fa) (masdar)
- Polish: bezokolicznik (pl) m inan, infinitiwus m
- Portuguese: infinitivo (pt) m, infinito (pt) m
- Romanian: infinitiv (ro) n
- Russian: неопределённая фо́рма f (neopredeljónnaja fórma) (глаго́ла), инфинити́в (ru) m (infinitív)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Slovak: neurčitok m inan, infinitív m inan
- Slovene: nedoločnik (sl) m, ínfinitiv m
- Spanish: infinitivo (es) m
- Swahili: kitenzi jina (sw)
- Tagalog: pawatas
- Turkish: mastar (tr), eylemlik (tr), isim-fiil (tr)
- Ukrainian: інфініти́в m (infinitýv), дієйме́нник m (dijejménnyk), невизна́чена фо́рма f (nevyznáčena fórma) (дієсло́ва)
- Vietnamese: lối vô định
- Welsh: berf annherfynol m
- Yiddish: אינפֿיניטיוו m (infinitiv)
infinitive (not comparable)
- (grammar) Formed with the infinitive.
1847, J. J. P. Le Brethon, L. Sandier, Guide to the French language; especially devised for persons who wish to study that language without the assistance of a teacher. the tenth edition, revised and corrected, London, page 70:
INFINITIVE MOOD or MANNER.
To Have, Avoir.
1858, C. P. Mason, English grammar; including the principles of grammatical analysis, London, page 32:
In English there are four moods:–1. The Infinitive Mood. 2. The Indicative Mood. 3. the Imperative Mood. 4. The Subjunctive Mood.
- Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined.
- a. 1823, Cunningham's Sermons (quoted in 1823, The Edinburgh Christian Instructor, volume 23, page 328)
- […] to search out in some higher region of infinitive space a spot where it was impossible for defilement to follow them […]
- a. 1823, Cunningham's Sermons (quoted in 1823, The Edinburgh Christian Instructor, volume 23, page 328)
- ^ “infinitive, adj. and n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “infinitive (n.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
infinitive
infinitive f (plural infinitives)
- infinitive clause, same as proposition infinitive
infinitive f
īnfīnītīve