Hypertext Webster Gateway: "optative"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Optative \Op"ta*tive\, a. [L. optativus: cf. F. optatif.]
Expressing desire or wish. --Fuller.
{Optative mood} (Gram.), that mood or form of a verb, as in
Greek, Sanskrit, etc., in which a wish or desire is
expressed.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Optative \Op"ta*tive\, n. [Cf. F. optatif.]
1. Something to be desired. [R.] --Bacon.
2. (Gram.) The optative mood; also, a verb in the optative
mood.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
optative
adj 1: indicating an option or wish
2: (grammar) relating to a mood of verbs in some languages;
"optative verb endings"
n : a mood (as in Greek or Sanskrit) that expresses a wish or
hope; expressed in English by modal verbs [syn: {optative
mood}]
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