ethical dative

ethical dative
noun
: a colloquial use of the dative of a pronoun for a person to whom it imputes a vague concern with the matter in question (as German mir, literally “for me”, in bleibe mir nur gesund “I just hope you stay well”)

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ethical dative or ethic dative noun
(esp in Greek and Latin) a dative implying an indirect interest in the matter, used to give a livelier tone to the sentence
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Main Entry: ↑ethic

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ethical dative,
Grammar. the dative case used to indicate a person who has a sympathetic interest in the statement, as mihi in Quid mihi Celsus agit? (How does my Celsus?) or me in “He plucked me ope his doublet and offered them his throat to cut.”

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ethical dative — Ethic Eth ic, Ethical Eth ic*al, a. [L. ethicus, Gr. ?, fr. ? custom, usage, character, dwelling; akin to ? custom, Goth. sidus, G. sitte, Skr. svadh?, prob. orig., one s own doing; sva self + dh? to set: cf. F. [ e]thique. See {So}, {Do}.] Of,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ethical dative — noun a form of the dative case applied to pronouns; used (in Latin and some other languages, but rare in English) to show a certain interest felt by the person indicated Example. Ill rhyme you so eight years together, As You Like It, iii. 2. Syn …   Wiktionary

  • Ethical — Ethic Eth ic, Ethical Eth ic*al, a. [L. ethicus, Gr. ?, fr. ? custom, usage, character, dwelling; akin to ? custom, Goth. sidus, G. sitte, Skr. svadh?, prob. orig., one s own doing; sva self + dh? to set: cf. F. [ e]thique. See {So}, {Do}.] Of,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ethic dative — ethical dative or ethic dative noun (esp in Greek and Latin) a dative implying an indirect interest in the matter, used to give a livelier tone to the sentence • • • Main Entry: ↑ethic …   Useful english dictionary

  • Ethic — Eth ic, Ethical Eth ic*al, a. [L. ethicus, Gr. ?, fr. ? custom, usage, character, dwelling; akin to ? custom, Goth. sidus, G. sitte, Skr. svadh?, prob. orig., one s own doing; sva self + dh? to set: cf. F. [ e]thique. See {So}, {Do}.] Of, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • dativo — (дательный падеж | datif | Dativ | dative | dativo) Античные грамматики считали, что основная функция этого падежа – указывать на предоставление или предназначение (лат. dativus = гр. dotikê ptôsis). По отношению к лицу, название которого стоит в …   Пятиязычный словарь лингвистических терминов

  • myself — (pron.) c.1500, alteration of meself, from O.E. phrase (ic) me self, where me is a kind of ethical dative [OED], altered in Middle Ages from meself on analogy of herself, with her felt as genitive; though analogous hisself remains bad form …   Etymology dictionary

  • Tamil language — Tamil தமிழ் tamiḻ Pronunciation [t̪ɐmɨɻ] Spoken in India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, where it has offi …   Wikipedia

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