relative

English

Alternative forms

• rel. (abbreviation)

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Middle French relatif, from Late Latin relātīvus, from Latin relātus, perfect passive participle of referō (“to carry back, to ascribe”), from re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear or carry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛl.ə.tɪv/
  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): (flapped) [ˈɹɛl.ə.ɾɪv], (enunciated) [ˈɹɛl.ə.tʰɪv]

    • Audio (US; enunciated)

      (file)

    • Audio (US; more common in casual speech)

      (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlətɪv

Adjective

relative (not comparable)

1. Connected to or depending on something else; comparative.
   • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, BBC Sport:

     For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.

2. (computing, of a URL, URI, path, or similar) Expressed in relation to another item, rather than in complete form.

   The relative URL /images/pic.jpg, when evaluated in the context of http://example.com/docs/pic.html, corresponds to the absolute URL http://example.com/images/pic.jpg.

3. (grammar) That relates to an antecedent.
4. (music) Having the same key but differing in being major or minor.
5. Relevant; pertinent; related.

   relative to your earlier point about taxes, ...

6. Capable to be changed by other beings or circumstance; conditional.

Synonyms

• comparative
• conditional
• limited

Antonyms

• absolute
• unlimited

Derived terms

• relative to

Related terms

• relatively
• relativity
• relativization
• relativize

 

Translations

conditional; depending on something else

• Arabic: نِسْبِيّ (nisbiyy)
• Belarusian: адно́сны (adnósny)
• Bulgarian: относи́телен (bg) (otnosítelen)
• Catalan: relatiu (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有關的／有关的, 有关的 (yǒuguān de), 相對的／相对的, 相对的 (xiāngduì de), 關連的／关连的, 关连的 (guānlián de)

• Czech: relativní (cs), vztažný m (of pronoun)
• Danish: relativ
• Dutch: relatief (nl), betrekkelijk (nl)
• Estonian: suhteline, relatiivne
• Finnish: suhteellinen (fi), relatiivinen (fi)
• French: relatif (fr)
• Galician: relativo (gl)
• German: vergleichsweise (de), relativ (de)
• Greek: σχετικός (el) m (schetikós), συγκριτικός (el) m (sygkritikós)
• Hungarian: relatív (hu), viszonylagos (hu)
• Ido: relatanta (io)
• Indonesian: relatif (id), nisbi (id), bertalian (id)
• Italian: relativo (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 相対的 (ja) (そうたいてき, soutaiteki)
• Korean: 상대적인 (sangdaejeogin)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: نسبی (nisbí)

• Latin: relātīvus (la)
• Norman: èrlatif (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: relativ (no)

  Nynorsk: relativ

• Persian: نسبی (fa) (nesbi)
• Polish: relatywny (pl) m, odnośny, względny (pl)
• Portuguese: relativo (pt) m
• Romanian: relativ (ro)
• Russian: относи́тельный (ru) (otnosítelʹnyj), реляти́вный (ru) (reljatívnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: dàimheach
• Spanish: relativo (es)
• Swedish: relativ (sv)
• Tagalog: matugnay
• Ukrainian: відно́сний (vidnósnyj), зв'я́заний (zvʺjázanyj)

Noun

relative (plural relatives)

2. Someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption.

   Why do my relatives always talk about sex?

3. (linguistics) A type of adjective that inflects like a relative clause, rather than a true adjective, in certain Bantu languages.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:relative

Related terms

• relate
• relation
• relationship
• relativism
• relativity

 

Translations

someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption

• Arabic: قَرِيب m (qarīb), قَرِيبَة f (qarība), أَقْرِبَاء pl (ʔaqribāʔ) (collective)
• Armenian: ազգական (hy) (azgakan), բարեկամ (hy) (barekam), յուրային (hy) (yurayin)
• Assamese: মিতিৰ (mitir), কুটুম (kutum), বঙহ (boṅoh), আপোন (apün)
• Azerbaijani: qohum (az)
• Belarusian: свая́к m (svaják), свая́чка f (svajáčka)
• Bulgarian: роднина (bg) f (rodnina), ро́дственик m (ródstvenik), сро́дник (bg) m (sródnik)
• Burmese: အမျိုး (my) (a.myui:)
• Catalan: parent (ca) m, parenta (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 親戚／亲戚 (can¹ cik¹), 亲戚 (can¹ cik¹)

  Mandarin: 親戚／亲戚 (zh), 亲戚 (zh) (qīnqi)

• Czech: příbuzný (cs) m
• Danish: pårørende c, beslægtet, frænde c, frænke c
• Dutch: familielid (nl) n, bloedverwant (nl) m
• Esperanto: parenco, parencino (female)
• Estonian: sugulane (et)
• Finnish: sukulainen (fi)
• French: parent (fr) m, géniteur (fr) m, génitrice (fr) f
• Friulian: parint
• Galician: parente (gl) m or f
• Georgian: ნათესავი (natesavi)
• German: Verwandter (de) m, Blutsverwandter m, Verwandte (de) f, Blutsverwandte f, Angehöriger (de) m, Angehörige (de) f, Familienangehöriger (de) m, Familienangehörige (de) f, Freund (de) m, Blutsfreund m, Freundin (de) f, Blutsfreundin f
• Greek: συγγενής (el) m or f (syngenís), οικείος (el) m (oikeíos)

  Ancient: συγγενής m or f (sungenḗs)

• Hindi: रिश्तेदार (hi) m or f (riśtedār)
• Hungarian: rokon (hu)
• Icelandic: ættingi (is) m, frændi (is) m, frænka (is) f
• Ido: parento (io), parentulo (io) (male), parentino (io) (female)
• Indonesian: kerabat (id)
• Irish: duine muinteartha m, gaol m
• Italian: parente (it) m or f, congiunto (it) m, congiunta (it) f, familiare (it) m or f, parentado (it) m, parentela (it) f
• Japanese: 親戚 (ja) (しんせき, shinseki), 身内 (ja) (みうち, miuchi), 関係詞 (かんけいし, kankeishi)
• Javanese: sadulur (jv), sadhèrèk
• Kazakh: туыс (tuys) (male side), нағашы (nağaşy) (female side)
• Khmer: សជន (km) (saʼcŭən), សហពន្ធុ (saʼhaʼpŏənthuʼ)
• Korean: 친척 (ko) (chincheok) 親戚 (ko))
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خزم (xizm)

• Kyrgyz: тууган (ky) (tuugan), туушкан (ky) (tuuşkan)
• Lao: ຍາດ (nyāt)
• Latin: cognātus m, cognāta f, propinquus (la) m, propinqua f
• Latvian: radinieks m, radiniece f, rads m
• Lithuanian: giminaitis m, giminaitė f
• Luhya: omulebe
• Macedonian: ро́днина m or f (ródnina), сродник m (srodnik)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malay: saudara, dansanak, badansanak
• Maori: huānga, pākanga, whanaunga, karangatanga, matamatahuānga (if distant)
• Mongolian: хамаатан (mn) (xamaatan)
• Nahuatl: ueponi
• Navajo: hakʼéí
• Ngazidja Comorian: nɗuhuze
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: slektning (no) m, frende (no) m, frenke m or f, frendekone m or f, pårørende (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: slektning m, frende m, frenke f, frendekone f, pårørande m or f

• Occitan: parent (oc) m
• Old Church Slavonic: ближика m (bližika)
• Old Norse: frændi m, frænka f, frændkona f
• Persian: نزدیکان (fa) pl (nazdikân), فامیل (fa) (fâmil), نزدیک (fa) (nazdik)
• Piedmontese: parent
• Polish: krewny (pl) m, krewna (pl) f
• Portuguese: parente (pt) m or f, parenta (pt) f
• Romanian: rudă (ro) f
• Russian: ро́дственник (ru) m (ródstvennik), ро́дственница (ru) f (ródstvennica), ро́дич (ru) m (ródič), соро́дич (ru) m (soródič), своя́к (ru) m (svoják), родня́ (ru) f (rodnjá) (collective)
• Rusyn: родак m (rodak)
• Sanskrit: बान्धव (sa) m (bāndhava)
• Scottish Gaelic: caraid m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ро̑д m, сродник

  Roman: rȏd (sh) m, srodnik (sh) m

• Slovak: príbuzný m
• Slovene: sorodnik (sl) m, sorodnica f
• Spanish: familiar (es), pariente (es) m or f, parienta f, parentela f (collective)
• Swahili: ndugu (sw) (noun 9/10), jamaa (sw), akraba (sw)
• Swedish: släkting (sv) c, frände (sv) c, fränka c
• Sylheti: ꠇꠥꠐꠥꠝ (kuṭum)
• Tagalog: hinlog
• Tajik: хеш (tg) (xeš), наздик (tg) (nazdik)
• Tamil: உறவினர் (ta) (uṟaviṉar)
• Taos: k’òwa’ána
• Telugu: బంధువు (te) (bandhuvu)
• Thai: ญาติ (th) (yâat), ญาติพี่น้อง (yâat-pîi-nɔ́ɔng)
• Turkish: akraba (tr)
• Turkmen: garyndaş
• Ukrainian: ро́дич m (ródyč), рода́к m (rodák), ро́дичка f (ródyčka), рода́чка f (rodáčka)
• Urdu: رشتہ دار m or f (riśta dār)
• Uyghur: قانداش (qandash)
• Uzbek: qarindosh (uz)
• Venetian: parènt
• Vietnamese: họ hàng (vi), người thân (vi), thân nhân (vi)
• Volapük: röletan (vo), hiröletan (vo) (male), jiröletan (vo) (female)
• Welsh: tras f, câr m, ceraint m pl
• Yagnobi: хеш (xeš)

See also

• aunt
• brother
• cousin
• father
• godparent
• grandchild
• granddaughter
• grandson
• great-grandchild
• great-grandparent
• in-law
• mother
• niece
• nephew
• parent
• refer
• referral
• sister
• stepdaughter
• stepson
• uncle

Anagrams

• levirate

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Danish

Adjective

relative

1. inflection of relativ:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

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Esperanto

Adverb

relative

1. relatively

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁə.la.tiv/

Adjective

relative

1. feminine singular of relatif

Anagrams

• lèverait, lévitera, relevait, révélait

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

relative

1. inflection of relativ:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

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Italian

Adjective

1. (deprecated template usage) Feminine plural of adjective relativo.

Anagrams

• evitarle, levitare, leviterà, rilevate, rivalete, rivelate, vietarle

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Latin

Etymology 1

From relātīvus +‎ -ē.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /re.laːˈtiː.u̯eː/, [rɛɫ̪äːˈt̪iːu̯eː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /re.laˈti.ve/, [reläˈt̪iːve]

Adverb

relātīvē (not comparable)

1. (Late Latin) relatively

References

• “rĕlātīvē”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• relative in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• rĕlātīvē in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,335/2.

Etymology 2

A regularly declined form of relātīvus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /re.laːˈtiː.u̯e/, [rɛɫ̪äːˈt̪iːu̯ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /re.laˈti.ve/, [reläˈt̪iːve]

Adjective

(deprecated template usage) relātīve

1. vocative masculine singular of relātīvus

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Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

relative

1. inflection of relativ:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

relative

1. inflection of relativ:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

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Swedish

Adjective

relative

1. (deprecated template usage) definite natural masculine singular of relativ